Binance Founder CZ's Lawyer Denies Allegations of Presidential Pardon Payment

Allegations that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) paid for the presidential pardon he received from US President Donald Trump have been categorically denied by Zhao’s lawyer, Teresa Goody Guillen.

Speaking on the Pomp Podcast, hosted by crypto investor Anthony Pompliano, Goody Guillen said that such a deal “will never happen.”

Pompliano asked during the program whether Trump controlled a secret Bitcoin wallet and whether CZ or Binance had paid into it in exchange for the pardon. Goody Guillen called this claim baseless, noting the transparency of blockchain transactions.

“If something like this happened, it would have been visible on the blockchain. CZ is not like that,” she said.

Background and Allegations

Following Trump's re-election last year, Binance's relationship with the Trump family was reportedly strengthened. Around the same time, CZ, who was serving a four-month prison sentence, requested and was granted a presidential pardon. These developments fueled suspicions of a “conflict of interests” in some political circles.

Among those who raised these allegations was Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. In October, Warren said, “If Congress doesn’t stop this kind of corruption, it becomes complicit in it.”

CZ's Plea and Binance's Affiliations

CZ admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act of 2023. In his plea, he said Binance failed to prevent criminals, sanctioned entities, and other illicit actors from laundering billions of dollars in money.

After the election, Binance became affiliated with World Liberty Financial, a company owned by Trump and his family. The Trump family's DT Marks DEFI LLC initially owned 75% of the company; today, that share stands at 38%. The family also holds 22.5 billion World Liberty tokens, with 75% of sales going to DT Marks.

Lawyer's Defense and Perspective

Goody Guillen described the news about World Liberty and Binance as “a combination of false statements.”

“There are many claims that are not based on a source. 'A source close to someone' is usually not a strong source,” she said.

Goody Guillen argued that CZ's pardon was purely a matter of “justice.” She pointed out that CZ's crime was a “regulatory violation” routinely encountered by major financial institutions.

“Many of the major financial institutions have been accused of similar violations, but their executives are not going to jail,” she said.