Binance Lobbied For CZ’s Pardon Through Trump-linked Entities: Report

President Donald Trump’s pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is attracting a lot of attention. The pardon is said to have come after an extensive and expensive lobbying campaign in Washington by Binance and its legal team. The crypto exchange allegedly hired multiple lobbyists who are linked to Trump’s inner circle.

Checkmate Earns $450,000 From Binance and Zhao 

According to a Politico report from Sunday, Changpeng Zhao, the Binance founder who spent four months in prison, is a beneficiary of several months of Binance-led efforts to win over key figures in Trump’s circle. This includes having to pay some Trump-linked lobbyists like Ches McDowell and his North Carolina-based firm Checkmate Government Relations.

McDowell was hired by Binance in September, and Checkmate allegedly received $450,000 for one month’s work. The firm took over lobbying the White House and the US Department of the Treasury on policy issues related to cryptocurrencies and “executive relief.” Within the last three months, the company has generated over $7.1 million in revenue. 

Goody Guillén Retained to Lobby For Binance Founder 

BakerHostetler’s Teresa Goody Guillén was one of those who also lobbied for CZ. He is a leading crypto lawyer who was once considered by Trump to lead the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Zhao hired Guillén in February, and the latter lobbied for the Binance founder in her personal capacity. 

The disclosure report claimed that she played a limited role, and more recently, it was reported that there was no activity on behalf of Zhao in the third quarter. 

Even with this situation, her firm still earned $290,000 from Binance and Zhao this year. Other members of her team are former U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and former House Financial Services Committee chief counsel Kevin Edgar.

Biden Administration’s “War on cryptocurrency ” Leads to CZ’s Detainment

Still on the matter of CZ’s pardon from Trump, which has been underway for quite a while, US Senator Elizabeth Warren tagged it a “kind of corruption.” She highlighted the WSJ report that carried the news of CZ’s pardon, noting that he had only lobbied for the pardon by financing Trump’s stablecoin. 

Specifically, she stated that he financed the US president’s stablecoin project. On the other hand, there are people like White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who believes that Zhao’s case was only part of the Biden administration’s “war on cryptocurrency.”