Democratic Party senators have requested that US Attorney General Pam Bondi and the US Department of Justice provide additional information regarding the pardon of Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao by President Donald Trump.
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 crimes with impunity.” The lawmakers accused Trump of encouraging criminal activity “so long as they enrich him.”
The letter follows similar criticism from US Representative Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, earlier this week, who said that “Trump is doing massive favors for crypto criminals who have helped line his pockets.”
The signatories include Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, Bernard Sanders, Mazie Hirono, Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed and Jeffrey Merkley. They wrote that “this pardon will make it harder for Federal law enforcement to fight and deter crime.”
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Senators allege links between Trump and Binance
In the letter, the Senators highlight several alleged ties between Zhao, Trump and Binance. Trump’s family launched their decentralized finance (DeFi) platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI) late last year, which has been linked to Binance’s operations.
The launch was followed by accusations that Zhao facilitated introductions and meetings for WLF leaders, which CZ denied in late May. Other reports suggest Binance played a role in developing the code behind USD1, the stablecoin issued by WLFI.
“After Mr. Zhao’s company provided President Trump and his family with a revenue stream worth millions of dollars, President Trump pardoned him for criminal activity that he admitted to conducting.“
Reports from earlier this month also claimed that Zhao’s pardon followed a lobbying push by Binance, which included $450,000 to Trump-linked lobbyists and $290,000 to former Securities and Exchange Commission chair candidate and lawyer for CZ, Teresa Goody Guillén.
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Lawmakers question impact on law enforcement
The senators argued that Trump’s pardon could “publicly and flagrantly undermine the work of federal law enforcement” and send a message to “cryptocurrency executives and other white-collar corporate criminals that the law doesn’t matter.”
They asked that the Department of Justice and Bondi explain the expected effect of the pardon on people and companies involved in crime, especially in the crypto industry. They also requested clarification on whether Trump’s alleged financial ties to CZ influenced his decision to issue the pardon.
Trump pardoned CZ last week, saying people told him “what he did was not even a crime.” Zhao had pleaded guilty in 2024 to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program at Binance.
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