Trump defends pardon of Binance founder, denies personal ties

During his first «60 Minutes» interview in five years, President Donald Trump explained why he pardoned Binance founder Changpeng «CZ» Zhao earlier this year. He said he did not know Zhao personally and believed the case was politically motivated, according to CNN.

In his conversation with Norah O’Donnell, Trump said he did not know about Zhao’s background when he gave the pardon. Referring to his decision, Trump said, «I don’t know who he is. I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.»

Zhao had pleaded guilty in 2023 to breaking anti-money-laundering laws and received a four-month prison sentence before being pardoned.

When asked about possible conflicts of interest after Binance reportedly bought his family’s stablecoin for $2 billion earlier this year, which was before the pardon, Trump said he knew «nothing about it.» He also said that his sons’ business deals are separate from government work.

Trump referred to Zhao as an entrepreneur and stated that pardoning him was intended to support the U.S. cryptocurrency industry. «I want to make crypto great for America,» he said.