"Zhao served four months in prison on anti-money laundering charges and was released in September 2024. He then interviewed Elizabeth Oyer, a former Pardon Attorney at the Justice Department who was appointed by then-President Joe Biden in 2022; Pelley noted she was replaced earlier this year by a Trump loyalist, before asking her whether the president's pardon of Zhao was unusual."
"The influence that money played in securing this pardon is unprecedented, Oyer said. The self-dealing aspect of the pardon, in terms of the benefit that it conferred on President Trump and his family and people in his inner circle, is also unprecedented. Zhao, Pelley said his sources told him, donated software to World Liberty Financial a crypto company closely tied to two of the president's sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. to help the Trump family launch a cryptocurrency."
President Donald Trump issued a pardon for Changpeng Zhao in October 2025 following Zhao's September 2024 release after serving four months on anti-money laundering charges. Binance allegedly provided software to World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm tied to Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., to help launch a Trump family cryptocurrency. Zhao applied for a presidential pardon the month after the software donation. A United Arab Emirates fund invested $2 billion into Binance using World Liberty crypto, and Eric and Donald Jr. reportedly earned over $800 million from crypto sales in early 2025. Observers raised concerns about unprecedented financial influence and potential self-dealing benefiting the president and his inner circle.
Read at www.mediaite.com
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