President Trump reiterated his claim that he does not know who Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao is during an interview with CBS News.
Trump granted Zhao a presidential pardon in October, nearly a year after the Binance founder pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and served a four-month prison sentence.
Trump told CBS’s Norah O’Donnell that Zhao “was treated very poorly by the Biden administration,” and described the former Binance CEO as a “victim of government weaponization.” The president added that he had been told that Zhao “was deluded” and that his pardon was aimed at ensuring that the United States remained competitive in the cryptocurrency sector.
“I don’t know that man at all. I don’t think I’ve ever met him,” Trump said during the CBS interview. “Maybe I did. Or, you know, someone shook my hand or something. But I don’t think I ever met him. I have no idea who he is. They told me he was a victim, just like me and a lot of other people.”
During the CBS interview, Trump dismissed questions about conflicts of interest, emphasizing his focus on keeping the United States “number one in crypto” and insisting that his children’s business ventures were separate from the government.
“My kids like this. I’m glad they do,” he said. “They’re running a business, they’re not in government.”
Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have called the pardon a clear example of “pay for play,” pointing to Zhao’s financial ties to Trump-affiliated companies.
A lawyer representing Zhao told the New York Post that he considers Warren’s statements defamatory.
