The Pardon That Wasn't Really a Pardon, Was It?
Alright, let's talk about that 'full and unconditional pardon' President Trump just dropped on Changpeng Zhao. You know, CZ, the Binance guy? The one who pled guilty to money laundering, the dude the Justice Department said caused "significant harm to U.S. national security"? Yeah, that guy. Trump signed it back in October 2025, but it only "leaked" a couple days later. Funny how that happens, huh? Like some well-placed whisper just happened to make its way out.
Now, I'm no conspiracy theorist, but my bullshit detector is practically screaming right now. Because if you squint hard enough at the timeline here, you don't just see dots; you see a damn constellation forming a very clear picture. CZ gets out of the slammer in fall 2024. What's the first thing his company, Binance, does? Oh, just donates some software to World Liberty Financial – you know, the Trump family's shiny new crypto venture. A little digital leg-up for the new kids on the block, free of charge. WLFI's lawyers claimed it was "freely available" stuff just to "save time." Yeah, because world-class financial institutions just happened to accept free software from a recently convicted crypto titan without batting an eye. Give me a break.
Then, what happens? CZ applies for a presidential pardon. Shocking, I know. And then, a few months before the pardon drops, in May 2025, an Emirati fund pumps a cool $2 billion into Binance. And how'd they pay? With World Liberty crypto. Let that sink in. A fund from the Emirates invests in CZ's company, using Trump's family crypto coin, and then, two weeks later, Trump announces the Emirates will invest in America and get highly restricted AI chips from the U.S. You'd think there'd be some line, some basic...
A Web of Convenient "Coincidences" and Convenient Amnesia
It's not just shady. No, 'shady' is for back alley poker games – this is a full-blown, stadium-sized scam playing out in broad daylight. You got Binance, CZ's baby, currently holding about $2 billion in deposits at World Liberty Financial. That, my friends, is most of World Liberty's deposits. And guess what? It could be earning the Trumps and their partners a sweet $80 million annually. Eighty million! For what? For being the clearinghouse for this whole convoluted dance?
And the denials? Oh, they're richer than a double fudge brownie. Trump, asked about the pardon, says he "didn't know Zhao." Believed he was "innocent," "persecuted by the Biden administration," and granted the pardon "at the request of a lot of very good people." "Very good people," he says. Who are these mysterious benefactors? Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny? When asked about the $2 billion Emirati deal, he claimed ignorance there too, but made sure to add he's "a big crypto fan." Of course he is. Especially when it flows into his family's coffers.
Then you got Eric Trump, Mr. World Liberty himself, asserting, "my father has nothing to do with our company." And CZ on FOX News, swearing up and down, "I do not have a business relationship with any of the sons of President Trump." Look, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and deposits two billion dollars into your family's barely-known crypto bank, it ain't a swan. It's a damn duck, alright? A duck with a very convenient pardon in its beak.
Even the adults in the room, the ones who actually know how this stuff is supposed to work, are sounding the alarm. Elizabeth Oyer, who used to head pardons at the Justice Department, called this "unusual," "unprecedented," and flat-out "corruption." She got fired, by the way, for refusing to restore Mel Gibson's gun rights. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe she just had too much integrity for the job description. Harvard's Lawrence Lessig, an ethics prof, cut straight to it: the Emirati deal's "only logical reason was to ingratiate with the president." He called Trump "compromised" and the relationship "corrupting." Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional scholar, said the family trust doesn't shield him from self-dealing. He called it a "classic example of a conflict of interest." I mean, are we really supposed to pretend this is all just good fortune and savvy business deals? It's like watching a magic trick where the magician's hand is clearly visible the entire time, but they still expect you to gasp.
And What Does It All Mean for Us, The Suckers?
This isn't just about one guy getting out of jail. This is about the highest office in the land, the power of a presidential pardon, being used as a bargaining chip, a reward for friends, allies, and donors. It's about a president, his family, and their financial interests getting tangled up with foreign money and convicted felons. And offcourse, we're supposed to just smile and nod.
Remember World Liberty Financial? It was "largely unknown" at launch, according to former banker Austin Campbell. But that Emirati deal? "Vaulted them from small time to the big leagues." Yeah, a $2 billion injection will do that. And while all this is going down, Alt5 Sigma, a company that partnered with a Trump family crypto venture, suspends its CEO without explanation after its stock tanks 74%. Is that related? Who knows. Probably just another coincidence in this grand symphony of coincidences.
My biggest question isn't how they got away with it—they always seem to, don't they?—but why we keep falling for the same old song and dance. What does this do to public faith in government? When former Justice Department officials are talking about "selling off pieces of our democracy," it’s not hyperbole anymore. It’s just... the news. Are we really okay with this new normal? Because honestly, sometimes I wonder if anyone gives a damn anymore.
