CZ pardon comes after expensive Binance lobbying in Washington: Politico

President Donald Trump’s pardon of former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Chao came after extensive and expensive lobbying in Washington.

Politico reported on Sunday that Zhao, who served a four-month prison sentence last year for violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws (AML), benefited from months of efforts by Binance and its legal team to win over top Trump administration officials.

In late September, Binance hired Donald Trump Jr.’s aide Chess McDowell and his North Carolina-based company Checkmate Government Relations to lobby the White House and Treasury Department for an “executive bailout,” according to the report.

Checkmate, one of Washington’s fastest growing companies, received $450,000 for one month’s work. According to Politico, the company generated $7.1 million in revenue in the past three months alone.

Related: Presidential pardon for Binance founder CZ is not innocent

Binance, CZ paid former SEC pick Teresa Goody Guillen $290,000

In February, shortly after Trump took office, Binance and Chao retained Teresa Goody Guillen, a cryptocurrency lawyer who had previously been considered for the SEC chair position under the Trump administration. Her company earned $290,000 from Binance and Zhao this year alone.

Binance’s latest lobbying effort comes after the company spent more than $1 million on lobbying efforts in 2022 before suspending operations following a plea deal in 2023, according to the report.

US President Donald Trump answered reporters’ questions on several topics, including CZ, during a press conference on Thursday. sauce: white house

The company has already spent $860,000 on lobbying this year under the Trump administration and expanded its presence through partnerships, including one with Trump-linked venture firm World Liberty Financial.

Related: Polymarket expects Sam Bankman Freed pardons to jump to 12%

Maxine Waters slams President Trump’s CZ pardon

Last week, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters denounced President Trump’s CZ pardon, calling it a “huge favor for crypto criminals.” President Trump justified the decision by saying that Zhao was “persecuted by the Biden administration” and that “what he did was not even a crime.”

But Waters called the move “surprising but not surprising,” citing Zhao’s guilty plea to violating U.S. money laundering laws. She claimed that Zhao’s pardon came after months of lobbying and “pour billions of dollars into Trump’s personal cryptocurrency company, World Liberty Financial.”

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