“The influence that money played in securing this pardon is unprecedented. The self-dealing aspect of the pardon in terms of the benefit that it conferred on President Trump, and his family, and people in his inner circle is also unprecedented,” says Elizabeth Oyer, former U.S. pardon attorney, about President Trump’s pardon of billionaire Changpeng Zhao. Oyer has been a critic of the Trump administration since she was fired from the DOJ and replaced by a Trump loyalist. Zhao is the founder of Binance, the world’s largest exchange for cryptocurrency. In 2023, Zhao and his company pled guilty to failing to prevent money laundering on Binance. Binance paid a $4 billion fine. Zhao went to prison for four months. Oyer says Zhao wasn’t close to meeting Justice Department guidelines for a pardon. Changpeng Zhao didn’t respond to 60 Minutes’ request for an interview. #trump #pardon #crypto #changpengzhao #binance