Yes: Trump granted the Changpeng Zhao pardon in October 2025, and the White House confirmed it on Oct. 23. The Binance founder had admitted a single count of not keeping an adequate anti-money-laundering program and served four months in prison. The harder claim, that the pardon was bought through Binance’s business with the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, is an allegation by House Democrats. Trump, Zhao, Binance and World Liberty all deny it, and no official finding supports it.
Where it stands: House Judiciary Committee Democrats featured the pardon in an August 2026 staff report, and a CBS News story published Oct. 14, 2026, said again that “Both Binance and Mr. Trump denied the pardon for Zhao, the Binance co-founder, was connected to the transaction.” We found no report, through Oct. 26, of any agency or committee majority opening an inquiry into the pardon.
The officials’ own words come first. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” and “In their desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry, the Biden Administration pursued Mr. Zhao despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims.” Trump told reporters, “A lot people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything,” and later told CBS’s 60 Minutes, “Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is,” adding, “I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that, and I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.” Asked about his sons’ crypto business, he said, “I know nothing about it because I’m too busy doing other things,” and “They’re not in government.” CNBC reported he said he acted “at the request of a lot of very good people.”
Zhao denied any arrangement on Fox News: “That’s completely not accurate,” he said of a Wall Street Journal report, and “There’s no deal. There’s no – there has never been any discussions.” He added, “There’s no business relationships between me, Binance and World Liberty Financial,” and said he has never met or spoken with Trump. The Journal said it stood by its reporting. Anadolu Agency noted that “CBS News reported that World Liberty Financial denied any involvement in Zhao’s pardon.”
Changpeng Zhao pardon: the claims, rated
| Claim | Verdict | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Trump pardoned Zhao amid World Liberty ties (tracker headline) | Accurate as reported | Pardon confirmed Oct. 23, 2025; ties reported by AP |
| A $2B Binance stake was paid in Trump-linked USD1 before the pardon | Accurate as reported | Announced May 2025, five months earlier |
| Zhao was convicted of money laundering | Partly accurate | His plea was to an anti-money-laundering program failure |
| There were no victims | Disputed | White House says so; AP and lawmakers cite illicit flows |
| The pardon was paid for | Disputed | House Democrats allege it; all parties deny |
| The pardon cleared Binance too | Not supported by the record | The company’s own plea was not pardoned |
| Trump and Zhao are personally close | Not supported by the record | Both say they have never met |
Zhao’s grant also appears on our Trump pardon tracker and as an entry on the Trump corruption tracker.
What Zhao actually pleaded guilty to
The AP reported that Zhao “had pleaded guilty in November to one count of failing to maintain an anti-money-laundering program.” That is a Bank Secrecy Act offense: a failure to run required controls, not a charge of laundering money himself. Sen. Elizabeth Warren described it differently, saying, “First, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge. Then he boosted one of Donald Trump’s crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon.” Her wording describes the offense more broadly than the plea did, which is why that row is rated partly accurate.
The penalties were real. Zhao “went on to serve at least four months in prison and paid a $50 million fine,” The National News Desk reported. Binance itself “pleaded guilty to sanctions and licensing violations in 2023 and agreed to pay more than $4 billion in penalties,” according to Anadolu Agency. At sentencing, Zhao said, “I deeply regret my failure, and I am sorry.”
Were there really no victims?
Leavitt’s line has two parts. The first, that Zhao faced no fraud charge, matches the plea. The second, no “identifiable victims,” is contested by the record of what the platform was used for. The AP wrote that Zhao “served prison time after failing to stop criminals from using the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism.”
Rep. Sean Casten and 27 other House Democrats made a similar point in a letter to the attorney general and Treasury secretary. They quoted the Justice Department’s account that Zhao told staff it was “better to ask for forgiveness than permission.” Because the White House and prosecutors describe the same conduct so differently, the claim is rated disputed.
The pay-for-pardon allegation
House Judiciary Democrats wrote in their August report: “The October 2025 pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao illustrates how President Trump and his family directly and personally benefit from pay-for-pardon schemes.” The report says Zhao “retained lobbyist Ches McDowell, a longtime friend of Donald Trump, Jr., to lobby the White House on his behalf,” and that Binance spent $260,000 lobbying the White House on matters that included “executive relief” Those details come from the minority staff report; we did not independently review the lobbying filings it relies on.
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The business side is the stablecoin deal: an Abu Dhabi fund paid for a $2 billion Binance stake in World Liberty’s USD1, as our MGX-Binance USD1 fact check details. The Wall Street Journal reported, per the New York Post, that Zhao’s side discussed a Binance-World Liberty deal that could be used as “leverage” for a pardon. Binance CEO Richard Teng denied that the exchange promoted the Trump-linked coin before the pardon. The report itself notes that Zhao maintains his business relationship with the Trump family was “misconstrued.”
Timing alone does not establish an exchange. As of Oct. 26, no court, inspector general or congressional majority had been reported to find that the pardon was traded for anything, and the allegation remains a claim by one party’s committee staff, met by flat denials.
What the pardon did not erase
The clemency covered Zhao, not his company. The Casten letter states that “Binance, as a corporation, pled guilty to three criminal money laundering charges and has not been pardoned.” It also notes that under the 2023 deal “Binance agreed to prohibit him from any involvement in operating or managing the company for three years,” and cites a DOJ monitorship of three years and a Treasury monitorship of five.
The lawmakers wrote that “We are also concerned by reports that Binance has pressed the DOJ and Treasury to terminate both compliance monitors,” and asked for answers by Nov. 20, 2025. We found no published reply in the coverage reviewed. Teng told CNBC that Zhao “remains the major shareholder of the company.” For broader context, see our report on how crypto pardons renewed the debate over clemency and conflicts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Trump pardon Changpeng Zhao?
Yes. Trump pardoned the Binance founder in October 2025, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed it on Oct. 23, 2025.
What was Changpeng Zhao convicted of?
Zhao admitted one Bank Secrecy Act count: not keeping an adequate anti-money-laundering program at Binance. He spent four months in prison and was fined $50 million.
Was the Zhao pardon connected to World Liberty Financial?
House Judiciary Democrats allege it was part of a pay-for-pardon pattern, citing Binance’s business ties to the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial. Trump, Zhao, Binance and World Liberty deny any connection, and no official finding has been reported.
Does the pardon cover Binance the company?
No. Binance pleaded guilty as a corporation in 2023, and House Democrats note that the company has not been pardoned. Its compliance monitorships under the 2023 settlement were not part of Zhao’s clemency.
Sources
- Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao — The Associated Press via PBS NewsHour, October 23, 2025
- Trump pardons Binance founder Zhao, citing no fraud amid crypto tensions — The National News Desk via KUTV, October 23, 2025
- Trump on Binance founder he pardoned: ‘I don’t know who he is’ — Anadolu Agency, November 4, 2025
- Binance CEO denies firm aided Trump-linked crypto project before CZ pardon — CNBC, November 4, 2025
- Casten, 27 House Dems Condemn Pardon of Binance Founder — Office of Rep. Sean Casten, November 6, 2025
- Binance founder says he was ‘a little bit surprised’ by Trump pardon in first interview since clemency — New York Post via AOL, November 8, 2025
- Pardons, Inc. (staff report) — House Judiciary Committee Democrats, August 2026
- Trump meme coin buyers vie for dinner with the president. Many appear to be overseas. — CBS News, October 14, 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.