Democratic Party senators have demanded that Attorney General Pam Bondi and the United States Department of Justice provide more information about President Donald Trump’s pardon of co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
In an open Letter On Tuesday, seven Democratic senators wrote that the pardon “signals to cryptocurrency executives and other white-collar criminals that they can commit felony crimes.” The lawmakers accused Trump of encouraging criminal activity “as long as it enriches them.”
The letter follows the same Criticism from US representative Maxine Waters.
Signatories include Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, Bernard Sanders, Mazie Hirono, Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed and Jeffrey Merkley. They wrote that “this amnesty will make it more difficult for federal law enforcement to fight and suppress crime.”
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Senators say links between Trump and Binance
In the letter, the senators highlight several alleged ties between Zhao, Trump and Binance. The Trump family launched their decentralized finance (Defi) Platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI) late last year, which has since been linked to Binance’s operation.
The launch was followed by accusations that Zhao facilitated introductions and meetings for WLF leaders, who CZ rejected in late May. Other reports suggest Binance has a role in Building code behind USD1The StableCoin released by WLFI.
“After Mr. Zhao’s company provided President Trump and his family with an income stream worth millions of dollars, President Trump pardoned him for the criminal activity he admitted to engaging in.”
Reports from earlier this month also claimed that Zhao’s pardon followed a lobbying push by Binance, which included $450,000 to lobbyists associated with Trump and $290,000 to the former candidate and lawyer for the Security and Exchange Chair for CZ, Teresa Goody Guillén.
Related: Crypto execs fork over cash at Trump’s ballroom fundraiser
Lawmakers have questioned the effect on law enforcement
The Senators argued that Trump’s pardon could “publicly and dramatically undermine the work of federal law enforcement” and send a message to “executives and other corporate criminals that the law does not matter.”
They demanded that the Department of Justice and Bondi explain the expected impact of the pardon on people and companies involved in crime, especially in the crypto industry. They also asked for clarification on whether Trump’s alleged finances in CZ influenced his decision to issue a pardon.
Trump pardoned CZ last week, Telling people he was told “what he did was not even a crime. Zhao apologized in 2024 for violating the US Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance.
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