Trump pardons CZ for the 2 billion bought? Lawyer dismisses corruption allegations revealing blockchain misunderstandings

The lawyer of former Chinese billionaire CZ, Theresa Goody Gillen, refuted the corruption allegations surrounding the Binance founder's pardon by President Trump, stating that the media reports about paid participation arrangements were “false statements,” based on a “fundamental misunderstanding” of blockchain technology and business operations. President Trump pardoned CZ, who admitted to violating AML laws, in October, triggering a strong rebound from Democratic lawmakers.

Lawyer Refutes Corruption Allegations Claiming Misunderstanding of Blockchain

(Source: Youtube)

Ghislaine defended Trump’s pardon of CZ in a recent Pomp Podcast interview, claiming that CZ has faced unprecedented treatment compared to executives of traditional financial institutions who are accused of similar compliance errors. She emphasized that, despite major banks facing the same or more serious allegations, no other CEOs have been prosecuted for these specific violations. “He was pardoned because he should never have been prosecuted in the first place,” Ghislaine stated, noting that the case does not involve fraud, has no victims, and has no criminal record.

She attributed this lawsuit to the “war on cryptocurrency” initiated by the previous government, implying that regulatory agencies targeted Binance and CZ as high-profile cases after the collapse of FTX. The former CEO of Binance admitted in November 2023 to failing to maintain adequate AML programs. Binance paid over $4.3 billion in settlement fees, while CZ personally paid $50 million and served four months in prison before being released in September 2024.

Gillin systematically refuted allegations regarding business transactions between Trump’s pardon and Binance and World Liberty Financial (a cryptocurrency platform backed by the Trump family). Critics pointed out that the USD1 (the stablecoin launched by World Liberty Financial on the Binance Smart Chain) and the $2 billion investment made by the UAE company MGX that uses the token for settlement are evidence of a quid pro quo arrangement.

The lawyer dismissed these claims, stating that they are a misunderstanding of standard Blockchain operations. “Just because I posted something on Craigslist, it doesn't mean I have any special relationship with the former CEO of Craigslist,” she explained, comparing the presence of USD1 on multiple exchanges to the use of open-source platforms. Media reports suggested that Binance developed the underlying technology for USD1 and promoted it to 275 million users, raising speculation about Binance receiving special treatment. However, Gillan pointed out that USD1 operates on multiple Blockchains, and other exchanges also hold this stablecoin, which undermines the claim that Trump’s business enjoys exclusive benefits.

$2 billion transaction becomes the focus of interest transfer

The doubts from the Democratic Party members mainly focus on the timeline and the amount. MGX's investment of 2 billion USD in a USD1 stablecoin occurred during the period of CZ's pardon application, and this timing coincidence has raised suspicions of interest transfer. Senator Elizabeth Warren took the lead in opposing the pardon, stating: “Mr. Zhao's pardon application coincided with the financial entanglements between Binance and the President's family, which raises urgent concerns about the integrity of our judicial system.”

She posted that CZ “admitted to committing money laundering” before providing funding for Trump's stablecoin and lobbying for a pardon. This statement portrays CZ as a criminal attempting to exchange money for legal immunity, while the Trump family is the beneficiary of this transaction. A group of Democratic senators, including Bernie Sanders, Chris Van Hollen, Jack Reed, and Mazie Hirono, wrote to Attorney General Pamela Bondi requesting an explanation of how the pardon would affect future white-collar crime prosecutions.

They warned that this decision “sends a signal to cryptocurrency executives and other white-collar criminals that as long as they can profit enough for President Trump, they can get away with it.” This criticism touches on the core issue of the fairness of the American judicial system. If the wealthy can exchange legal immunity through business transactions or political donations, then the principle that “all are equal before the law” will be seriously eroded.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters specifically called Trump's pardon “shocking but not surprising as a reflection of his presidency,” and accused Trump of prioritizing “helping cryptocurrency criminals who line his pockets” during the government shutdown, while the American public faced rising living costs. This criticism ties the pardon case to Trump's overall governing style, implying that this is just one instance among many conflicts of interest.

Core Focus of the Democratic Party's Doubts

Timing Coincidence: The $2 billion investment occurred during CZ's pardon application period.

Amount Scale: 2 billion USD investment directly related to Trump family businesses.

Priority: The government shutdown prioritizes handling pardons that have sparked criticism.

Judicial Justice: Can the rich buy legal immunity with money?

Due to the increasing opposition, Congressman Ro Khanna announced plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit elected officials from owning or issuing cryptocurrencies in response to what he calls “blatant corruption.” If this legislation is passed, it will have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency empire of the Trump family.

Trump distanced himself, claiming not to know CZ

President Trump distanced himself from the controversy during an interview with 60 Minutes, claiming that although he pardoned CZ, he does not know CZ. When asked about the $2 billion deal between Binance and his family's cryptocurrency business, Trump replied that he was “too busy” and was not aware of it. This kind of response is a typical political distancing strategy, but it also raises new questions: If the president is not familiar with the relevant background, why approve the pardon?

“I know he was sentenced to four months in prison or something like that, and I've also heard that this is Biden's political persecution,” Trump said, describing the indictment as politically motivated. This defense aligns with attorney Gillan's argument, attributing the indictment of CZ to the previous administration's hostility towards cryptocurrency, while the pardon is seen as correcting this injustice.

White House spokesperson Carolyn Levitt defended the decision, stating that it underwent thorough review by lawyers and described it as a correction to the “Democratic Party's tough strategy against the cryptocurrency industry.” This official statement attempts to frame the pardon as a policy correction rather than a personal favor, but Democratic lawmakers are not buying it.

CZ expressed gratitude for Trump's pardon and stated that he would “do everything possible to help the U.S. become the cryptocurrency capital and promote the development of web3 technology globally.” He denied directly funding Trump's stablecoin project and dismissed media reports as “fake news” spread by competitors. CZ's statement attempts to position himself as a promoter of the crypto industry rather than as a backer of Trump.

At the same time, Binance has been exploring various options for re-entering the U.S. market after the amnesty, which may involve merging its independent U.S. subsidiary into global operations or allowing U.S. users to access its main platform directly. This indicates that CZ and Binance are actively leveraging the new opportunities brought by the amnesty.