President Trump granted a pardon to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao last month. Now he says he doesn't know who CZ is.
"Okay, are you ready? I don't know who he is," Trump told CBS "60 Minutes" in an interview that aired Sunday.
"I don't know the man at all. I don't think I ever met him," Trump continued. "I have no idea who he is."
Yet Trump also said CZ "was treated really badly by the Biden administration" and claimed Zhao was "a victim, just like I was."
Zhao pleaded guilty in late 2023 to failing to sufficiently combat money laundering on his crypto exchange. He stepped down as Binance CEO and was sentenced to four months in jail, released in September 2024.
Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle a multiyear investigation into allegations the platform enabled thousands of transactions supporting terrorism and child abuse.
Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland called that fine "one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history."
Despite Trump's claims of ignorance, Binance is involved with World Liberty Financial - a crypto platform that sends 75% of token sales revenue to a company linked to Trump and his family.
Trump's sons are deeply involved in crypto ventures. "My sons are involved in crypto much more than me. I know very little about it, other than one thing. It's a huge industry," Trump told "60 Minutes."
Following Trump's election, CZ mounted an aggressive campaign for clemency, including publicly praising the president and submitting pardon applications, according to The New York Times.
Trump suggested his decision to pardon CZ was about making the US competitive in crypto.
"And if we're not gonna be the head of it, China, Japan, or someplace else is," Trump said.
He accused the Biden administration of waging a "witch hunt" against CZ, claiming: "They sent him to jail and they really set him up. That's my opinion. I was told about it."
Trump said he "was told" CZ was a victim, despite claiming no knowledge of who he is or his case.
Trump's claim he knows nothing about a high-profile pardon recipient is ironic given his attacks on Biden's pardons.
Trump and Republicans have asserted that Biden's pardons using an "autopen" are invalid because Biden allegedly wasn't aware of what he was signing.
"Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!" Trump wrote on Truth Social in March.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Biden "didn't even know what the categories were, apparently, much less the individual people, that he pardoned."
Now Trump admits he pardoned someone he claims he's never met and knows nothing about.
Trump's "I don't know who he is" defense strains credibility on multiple levels.
CZ ran one of the world's largest crypto exchanges. He pleaded guilty to serious financial crimes. His company paid a $4.3 billion fine. And following Trump's election, CZ campaigned publicly for a pardon.
Yet Trump claims total ignorance while simultaneously defending CZ as a victim and justifying the pardon on policy grounds.
The contradiction is obvious: How can Trump call CZ a victim who was "treated really badly" if Trump has "no idea who he is"?
The Trump family's financial ties to Binance through World Liberty Financial add another layer of conflict. When 75% of a crypto platform's revenue flows to your family's company, claiming ignorance about that platform's founder becomes harder to believe.
Trump saying his sons are deeply involved in crypto while he knows "very little" doesn't help. Presidents typically know about businesses connected to their families, especially when issuing pardons.
The autopen criticism of Biden makes this worse. Trump attacked Biden for allegedly not knowing whom he pardoned. Now Trump admits pardoning someone based on what he "was told" without personal knowledge.
CZ's post-election pardon campaign, publicly praising Trump while submitting applications, suggests coordination. Someone seeking a pardon doesn't randomly praise a president without hoping for reciprocity.
The "60 Minutes" interview captures Trump in a familiar position - defending actions he claims to know nothing about while simultaneously justifying those same actions. It's an impossible position that raises more questions than it answers.
For anyone watching Trump's crypto policy, this pardon looks like exactly what critics feared - favorable treatment for industry figures connected to Trump family business interests, justified with hand-waving about US competitiveness.
Whether Trump actually knows CZ or not, the pardon of someone whose company paid billions in fines for enabling money laundering, terrorism financing, and child abuse is controversial. Claiming ignorance while defending the decision makes it worse, not better.