Are You Okay With a President Pardoning a Felon with Business Ties to Family?

PODCASTS.

>> WELCOME BACK. PRESIDENT

TRUMP'S PARDON OF BILLIONAIRE

FELON CHANGPENG ZHAO HAS SPARKED

CONCERNS ABOUT THE PRESIDENT'S

USE OF THE PARDON POWER. ZHAO IS

THE FOUNDER OF BINANCE, WHICH IS

THE WORLD'S LARGEST EXCHANGE FOR

CRYPTOCURRENCY. HE PLEADED

GUILTY FOR FAILING TO PREVENT

MONEY LAUNDERING ON THE

PLATFORM. NOW, LAST NIGHT ON 60

MINUTES, FORMER PARDON ATTORNEY

ELIZABETH OYER SHARED HER

THOUGHTS ON WHY THIS PARDON IS

NOT TYPICAL.

>> YOU WOULD DESCRIBE THIS

PARDON AS UNUSUAL.

>> 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.

>> IS THIS JUSTICE?

>> THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT

JUSTICE. THIS IS CORRUPTION.

>> FOR MORE ON THIS, HE IS A

REPORTER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

AND COVERS MONEY, POLITICS AND

INFLUENCE. KENNETH, THANK YOU SO

MUCH FOR JOINING US ON 24/7

TODAY. IS THIS AN OVERREACH?

OVERREACH, I SHOULD SAY, OF

POLITICAL POWER TO PARDON

ZHAO'S FINANCIAL CRIMES?

>> WELL.

>> I MEAN, THERE ARE NO REAL

CHECKS ON THE PARDON POWER. THE

PRESIDENT, THAT'S WHAT MAKES

IT. SO USEFUL TO A PRESIDENT

SEEKING TO ACT IN A UNILATERAL

FASHION TO ASSIST ALLIES

POTENTIAL BUSINESS PARTNERS, OR

TO PUNISH ENEMIES. AND PRESIDENT

TRUMP SORT OF GOT ALL THREE OF

THOSE THINGS IN THIS PARDON, AND

THAT THERE IS A CLEAR BENEFIT OR

POTENTIAL BENEFIT. THERE'S

ALREADY A BENEFIT TO HIS

FAMILY'S CRYPTO COMPANY. AND

LET'S BE CLEAR HERE. THIS IS

NOT JUST HIS FAMILY'S CRYPTO

COMPANY. HE IS INVESTED. HE

PERSONALLY, THE PRESIDENT IS

INVESTED IN THIS CRYPTO COMPANY

WORLD LIBERTY FINANCIAL, THAT

FACILITATED A MASSIVE $2 BILLION

DEAL BETWEEN BINANCE, WHICH IS

THE COMPANY OF THE PARDONED, THE

PARDONED CRYPTO BILLIONAIRE AND

THIS EMIRATI SOVEREIGN WEALTH

FUND. AND SO THERE'S THERE'S

ALREADY A BENEFIT, BUT THERE'S

POTENTIALLY MORE BENEFIT IF

BINANCE AS A RESULT OF THIS

PARDON IS ALLOWED TO ENTER THE

CRYPTO MARKET. AND THEN YOU ALSO

SEE IT BEING USED TO SORT OF

FURTHER THIS POLICY THAT THE

PRESIDENT HAS EMBRACED OF SORT

OF DEREGULATING CRYPTO, OR AT

LEAST PULLING BACK FROM A CRYPTO

CRACKDOWN THAT THE BIDEN

ADMINISTRATION HAD HAD

ENGINEERED. AND ACTUALLY BEFORE

THAT, EVEN THE TRUMP

ADMINISTRATION, THE FIRST TRUMP

ADMINISTRATION HAD ENGINEERED.

SO THERE AREN'T MANY CHECKS ON

WHAT HE CAN DO WITH THE PARDON

POWER. AND HERE WE SEE IT BEING

USED IN A WAY THAT HAS A CLEAR

PERSONAL BENEFIT FOR HIM AND HIS

FAMILY.

>> YEAH. AND I WANT TO GO BACK

TO WHAT YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE

EMIRATI FUND. WE KNOW BINANCE

DONATED SOFTWARE TO WORLD

LIBERTY FINANCIAL TO HELP THE

TRUMP FAMILY VENTURE LAUNCH A

CRYPTOCURRENCY. AJ ROSSE BINANCE

RECEIVED $2 BILLION FROM EMIRATI

FUND BACK IN MAY. AND THE DEAL

WAS DONE IN WORLD LIBERTY

CRYPTO. SO SOUNDS ALL VERY

CONFUSING. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE

CONNECTION BETWEEN BINANCE AND

WORLD LIBERTY FINANCIAL?

>> YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S BASICALLY

THE OUTLINE IS WHAT YOU JUST

SAID, WHICH IS THAT WORLD

LIBERTY FINANCIAL IS KIND OF

LIKE A BANK. IT'S NOT OFFERING.

I MEAN, IN SOME CASES IT IS

OFFERING CRYPTOCURRENCY, BUT IN

THIS CASE, ALL IT WAS DOING WAS

SORT OF PROVIDING THE BACK END

FINANCING BETWEEN THE EMIRATI

SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND AND

BINANCE. AND SO THERE'S NO REAL

REASON FOR THESE TWO MAJOR

PLAYERS IN THE CRYPTO SPACE TO

EMIRATI SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND,

ON THE ONE HAND, AND BINANCE ON

THE OTHER, TO TURN TO WORLD

LIBERTY FINANCIAL, EXCEPT TO

CURRY FAVOR WITH THE PRESIDENT

AND THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM,

INCLUDING HIS FAMILY. BY THE

WAY, I SHOULD SAY THAT ZACH

WITKOFF, THE SON OF STEVE

WITKOFF, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S TOP

PEACE ENVOY, IS ALSO INVOLVED IN

THIS WORLD. LIBERTY FINANCIAL.

AND SO THE REASON THAT THEY DID

THIS WAS TO INVOLVE THE

PRESIDENT AND THE PRESIDENT'S

FAMILY'S COMPANY IN, IN BINANCE

AND IN THE AFFAIRS OF BINANCE.

AND HERE WE SEE IT PAYING OFF TO

THE TUNE OF A PARDON THAT COULD

HELP FACILITATE EVEN MORE

BUSINESS BETWEEN THE TRUMP

FAMILY, CRYPTO SORT OF EMPIRE

AND BINANCE, AND ALLOW BINANCE

TO ENTER THE VERY LUCRATIVE U.S.

CRYPTOCURRENCY MARKET, WHICH WAS

BANNED FROM SO DOING AS A RESULT

OF THE GUILTY PLEA BY SISI AND

BINANCE TO THESE VERY SERIOUS

CHARGES OF ALLOWING THE PLATFORM

TO BE USED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING

BY, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE WORST

TERRORIST ENTITIES IN THE WORLD,

AT LEAST IN THE EYES OF THE U.S.

GOVERNMENT. WE'RE TALKING

HAMAS, AL QAEDA, I.S.I.S., IN

THEIR GUILTY PLEA, SISI AND

BINANCE SAID, WE ALLOW THESE

ENTITIES TO DO BUSINESS ON OUR

PLATFORM BY VIRTUE OF OUR

FAILURE TO INITIATE AND

IMPLEMENT STRICT MONEY

LAUNDERING PROTECTIONS.

>> WOW, SO MUCH TO UNPACK AND SO

MUCH TO UNRAVEL THERE. KENNETH