Costly Trump-aligned lobbying preceded CZ pardon – Politico
President Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao after a months-long Washington push that hired Trump Jr. ally Ches McDowell and others, filings indicate, Politico reports.
President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao after a months-long lobbying campaign in Washington, federal filings and public disclosures show, according to Politico. The White House characterized the action as clemency restoring Zhao’s legal standing, subject to regulatory reviews.
In late September, Binance retained Ches McDowell’s Checkmate Government Relations, a North Carolina firm with ties to Donald Trump Jr., to lobby the White House and the Treasury Department on financial policy and executive relief. The contract paid $450,000 for one month of work. Checkmate reported $7.1 million in revenue over the past three months.
In February, shortly after the inauguration, Binance and Zhao also hired Teresa Goody Guillén, a crypto attorney previously floated as a potential SEC chair. Her firm has been paid $290,000 this year for work related to Binance and Zhao.
At the White House, Trump told reporters he did not believe he had met Zhao, adding he was informed Zhao "had a lot of support" and that "what he did is not even a crime," characterizing him as "persecuted by the Biden administration." He described granting the pardon "at the request of a lot of good people." Photographs captured McDowell and Donald Trump Jr. speaking with Trump at the White House during a recent event.
Binance’s federal outreach has fluctuated in recent years. A U.S. unit began lobbying in 2021, with more than $1 million spent in 2022 and nearly $1.2 million in the first nine months of 2023. Activity paused after a late‑2023 plea deal, then resumed this year, with reported U.S. lobbying totaling $860,000 so far. Binance has also formed ties with the Trump‑linked World Liberty Financial crypto venture, and CEO Richard Teng joined the advisory board of The Digital Chamber in July.
U.S. Representative Maxine Waters criticized the pardon as a "massive favor for crypto criminals," calling it "appalling but unsurprising." She alleged it followed months of lobbying and "funneling billions into Trump’s personal crypto company, World Liberty Financial."
As GNcrypto wrote previously, Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti‑money‑laundering laws, stepped down as Binance CEO, paid a $50 million fine, and served four months in prison. Binance paid $4.3 billion in penalties and remains under compliance monitoring by the Justice and Treasury departments. The pardon erases Zhao’s Bank Secrecy Act conviction and lifts a court‑ordered bar on him holding executive roles at Binance, subject to any regulatory reviews.
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