A lawyer representing U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has responded to allegations that she defamed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in a social media post following U.S. President Donald Trump’s pardon of him.
The New York Post reported that Zhao’s lawyer, Teresa Goody Guillén, threatened to sue Senator Warren for “defamatory statements that impugn his reputation” unless she removed an October 23 X post. This post cited “corruption” in Trump’s pardon of Zhao, which occurred on the same day.
Warren’s lawyer, Ben Stafford, stated in a letter to Goody Guillén on Sunday, obtained by Punchbowl News, that “any threatened defamation claim would be without merit.” He argued that the law Zhao “pled guilty to violating is an anti-money laundering law.”
Senator Warren had stated in her X post that Zhao “pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and was sentenced to prison.” Zhao subsequently rebuffed this online days later, asserting that “there were NO money laundering [charges].”
Statement Needs “Actual Malice,” Lawyer Argues
Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program at Binance, a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act. A Seattle federal court sentenced him to four months in prison in April 2024.
Warren’s X post further alleged that Zhao “financed President Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon.” This statement added to existing criticism of Trump’s pardon, stemming from alleged ties between Binance and his family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.
Reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg indicate that Binance assisted in the creation of World Liberty’s stablecoin, USD1. This stablecoin was also utilized in a $2 billion deal where the Emirati state-owned investment firm MGX acquired a stake in Binance in March.
Politico reported on October 25 that Zhao’s pardon followed an expensive, months-long effort by Binance and its legal team to influence key figures within Trump’s circle.
Stafford, Warren’s lawyer, asserted in the letter that Warren’s X post “is true in all respects and therefore cannot be defamatory.” He maintained that it “accurately represented publicly available and widely reported facts.”
“A public figure such as Mr. Zhao cannot prevail on a defamation claim without presenting evidence that the defendant published a false statement of fact with actual malice,” Stafford added.
Zhao’s Lawyer Asks for Retraction
Zhao’s lawyer, Goody Guillén, stated in the letter, as seen by the New York Post, that Zhao “will not remain silent while a United States Senator seemingly misuses the office to repeatedly publish defamatory statements that impugn his reputation.”
The letter requested that Warren retract statements made in both her X post and a Senate resolution that sought to denounce Trump’s pardon of Zhao. Failure to do so, the letter warned, could lead Zhao to “pursue all legal remedies available to address these false statements.”
Stafford countered that Warren’s X post “simply references the fact that Mr. Zhao pled guilty to a violation of U.S. anti-money laundering law.”
“Her X Post does not state — and should not be construed to state — that he pled guilty to any other money laundering charge,” the letter clarified.