"In "Federalist No. 74," Alexander Hamilton envisioned the presidential pardon as a " benign prerogative," an act of mercy important enough to supersede all other laws. But clemency hasn't always been used that way; sometimes, presidents like to get something out of it too (Bill Clinton, for example, was widely criticized for pardoning a fugitive whose ex-wife had donated to the Clinton Presidential Center)."
"This week's pardon of Changpeng Zhao, perhaps the single richest person in the cryptocurrency industry, marks an escalation of that strategy. In 2023, Zhao pled guilty to violating anti-money-laundering laws during his tenure as CEO of Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world. In a settlement with the Treasury Department, Binance agreed to completely exit the U.S. market. The company was also slapped with a $4.3 billion penalty, and Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison."
Presidential clemency has been invoked both as mercy and as a tool for political or financial gain. Donald Trump concentrated pardons within his political orbit, rewarding loyalty and personal remuneration. The pardon of Changpeng Zhao represents an escalation of that pattern. Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to anti–money‑laundering violations as CEO of Binance. Binance agreed to exit the U.S. market and paid a $4.3 billion penalty; Zhao received a four-month sentence. Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called Binance's oversight failures "willful failures" that enabled transactions tied to cybercriminals, child abusers, and terrorist groups. Zhao had been restricted from running the company.
Read at The Atlantic
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