CZ Lawyer Says Trump Pardon Fair, Not ‘Pay-For-Play’

The lawyer for Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) denied allegations that his pardon from US President Donald Trump was part of a ”pay-for-play” deal.

During an appearance on Anthony Pompliano’s “Pomp Podcast,” Teresa Goody Guillén said the criticism around her client’s pardon is a “pile up of a lot of false statements.” 

She said the request followed the standard government review process, passing through the Justice Department’s pardon attorney and the White House Counsel’s Office before reaching Trump’s desk.

Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have alleged that Zhao’s pardon was politically motivated and tied to Binance’s support for the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial. Guillén rejected those claims, saying there was no evidence WLFI was Trump’s company.

“People are making these assumptions that just show a fundamental misunderstanding of how either business works or how blockchain works,” she said. “You have to write up the justification, and then a variety of people look through it.” 

WLFI Not Really Trump’s Project

CZ’s personal lawyer said that she has not “seen anything” that shows her that WLFI is indeed Trump’s company. 

And while Binance has listed the project’s governance token and its USD1 stablecoin, Guillén noted that many other major platforms have also listed them. 

WLFI markets (Source: CoinMarketCap) 

CZ Pardon Was Justice, Lawyer Says

CZ was sentenced to four months in prison in 2024 for violating the US Bank Secrecy Act when he failed to implement proper Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) controls at Binance. As part of a plea deal, he had to step down from his role at the time as the exchange’s CEO in addition to the prison sentence.

Trump pardoned him in October, saying the Binance co-founder was locked away for something that “wasn’t a crime” during the former Joe Biden administration’s “witch hunt” on crypto. 

Guillén said her client was “pardoned for justice” because he was a scapegoat for the Biden administration’s war on crypto. 

“I think it was part of the war on crypto, and at that point, this was close after the FTX collapse and I think that the war in crypto had to go against somebody, and they had to prosecute somebody and really persecute someone,” she said, adding that Binance and CZ were targeted. 

She also said that there have been past instances where CEOs of major traditional finance institutions have been found guilty of the same charges as her client, but did not serve prison time.

In CZ’s case, Guillén said that there was no fraud and no victims. There was no criminal history either, she said, adding that prison sentences for the crimes CZ was found guilty of are an anomaly. 

CZ Says Any Refund Of $4.3 Billion Fine Will Be Invested In The US

Binance’s settlement agreement with regulators also included a $4.3 billion fine, one of the largest in crypto’s history. 

On X, one user asked CZ whether Binance will be refunded the $4.3 billion following the pardon. CZ said this was a “delicate question.” 

ah, delicate question.

1. I appreciate the pardon already. There is a balance in asking for more vs “what is fair” vs appreciate what you got already.

2. IF we get any refund, we will be investing that in America anyway, to show our appreciation.

Haven’t asked yet, I think🙏

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) November 17, 2025

He said he appreciates the pardon, and that there is a balance when it comes to “asking for more vs ‘what is fair’ vs appreciate what you got already.”

“IF we get any refund, we will be investing that in America anyway, to show our appreciation,” CZ added. 

He said he does not think Binance or his legal team have submitted a request for a refund yet. 

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