Senate Democrats seek DOJ rationale for Trump’s CZ pardon, Binance ties

Seven Senate Democrats pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice for an explanation of President Donald Trump’s pardon of Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, asking how it will affect federal enforcement and whether any financial links influenced the decision.

The letter came from Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, Bernard Sanders, Mazie Hirono, Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed and Jeff Merkley. The group requested details on the rationale for the pardon, its impact on ongoing and future cases, including crypto, and any ethics reviews conducted in connection with the decision.

The lawmakers wrote that the action “signals to cryptocurrency executives and other white-collar criminals that they can commit crimes with impunity,” and argued that “this pardon will make it harder for Federal law enforcement to fight and deter crime.” They asked DOJ to outline the expected effects on people and companies under investigation and to clarify any financial connections among Trump, Zhao and Binance that may bear on the decision.

Their letter followed remarks from Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, who contended, “Trump is doing massive favors for crypto criminals who have helped line his pockets.”

The senators cited reported ties among Trump, Zhao and Binance. They referenced the late-2023 launch of World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance platform associated with Trump’s family that issues the USD1 stablecoin. Zhao was accused of arranging introductions and meetings for WLF leaders, a claim he denied in May. The letter also pointed to reports that Binance helped develop the code for USD1 and asserted: “After Mr. Zhao’s company provided President Trump and his family with a revenue stream worth millions of dollars, President Trump pardoned him for criminal activity that he admitted to conducting.”

They also referenced accounts of a lobbying push tied to the pardon, including $450,000 to Trump-aligned lobbyists and $290,000 to Teresa Goody Guillén, an attorney for Zhao and a former candidate for SEC chair.

Trump offered a brief defense of the decision last week, noting that people told him “what he did was not even a crime.” Zhao pleaded guilty in 2024 to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program at Binance.

As GNcrypto covered previously, Trump granted Zhao clemency on Oct. 23, following Zhao’s four-month prison term and Binance’s $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities and compliance overhaul.