President Donald Trump says he doesn’t know the billionaire he pardoned, even though the man’s company just made a multibillion-dollar deal with his family’s crypto business.
During his 60 Minutes interview Sunday, CBS’s Norah O’Donnell pressed Trump about his decision to pardon Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of Binance, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges. Zhao had pleaded guilty to money-laundering violations that prosecutors said helped criminals move funds tied to drug trafficking and child exploitation.
Trump brushed off any connection to Zhao. “Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is,” the 79-year-old president said. “I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.”
The pardon raised eyebrows because it came just months after Binance struck a $2 billion partnership deal with the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.
O’Donnell pointed out the timing and asked about the “appearance of pay for play.” Trump again claimed he knew nothing about the deal or Zhao’s pardon. “Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about it because I’m too busy doing the other — I can only tell you this: My sons are into it. I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto.”
In the 60 Minutes broadcast, O’Donnell explained that World Liberty Financial — founded by Trump’s sons Eric and Don Jr. alongside Zach and Alex Witkoff, sons of Trump ally Steve Witkoff — denied having anything to do with Zhao’s pardon.
Trump has previously said the decision came after “a lot of people” recommended clemency for Zhao, arguing “what he did is not even a crime.” But according to the full interview transcript, much of Trump’s longer response never aired. In the uncut portion, he reportedly went on a tangent about his plans to “make crypto great for America,” slammed Joe Biden as “corrupt,” and doubled down on not knowing Zhao personally.
“I don’t know the man at all,” Trump said in the transcript. “I don’t think I ever met him. Maybe I did. Or, you know, somebody shook my hand or something. But I don’t think I ever met him. I have no idea who he is. I was told that he was a victim, just like I was and just like many other people, of a vicious, horrible group of people in the Biden administration.”
Zhao, 48, a Chinese-born Canadian who ranks among the richest people in the world, served four months in prison after his 2023 conviction. He was released in September 2024.
O’Donnell saved her question about the pardon for the end of the interview, seemingly catching Trump off guard. “So [you’re] not concerned about the appearance of corruption with this?” she asked.
“I can’t say, because — I can’t say — I’m not concerned. I don’t — I’d rather not have you ask the question. But I let you ask it,” Trump replied.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Binance created a task force after Trump’s election win to explore ways to secure Zhao’s release. The company eventually helped boost World Liberty Financial’s valuation from $127 million to more than $2.1 billion — just before Trump signed Zhao’s pardon.