A 60 Minutes investigation aired Sunday alleges that President Donald Trump’s pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao followed a series of financial interactions that directly benefited the Trump family’s crypto ventures — a sequence one former Justice Department official called “unprecedented.”

Correspondent Scott Pelley opened the segment by reporting that Zhao’s company “supported a Trump family firm at critical moments leading up to the president’s pardon” in October 2025. Zhao, who served four months on anti–money laundering charges, was released in September 2024.

Pelley interviewed Elizabeth Oyer, the former U.S. Pardon Attorney under President Joe Biden, who bluntly condemned the circumstances surrounding Zhao’s clemency. “The influence that money played in securing this pardon is unprecedented,” she said. “The self-dealing aspect of the pardon… is also unprecedented.”

According to Pelley’s sources, Zhao “donated software” to World Liberty Financial — a crypto firm closely tied to Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. — helping the family launch its own cryptocurrency. “The next month, Changpeng Zhao applied for a presidential pardon,” Pelley noted.

Reuters previously reported that Trump’s two eldest sons “raked in more than $800 million” from crypto-asset sales in early 2025. Pelley added that a UAE fund invested $2 billion into Binance using World Liberty crypto — a decision one source called “nuts.”

Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig said the arrangement raises serious ethical concerns. “The only reason it makes sense is to ingratiate with the president,” he told Pelley. Pressed on whether Trump is “compromised,” Lessig responded: “‘Compromised’ is exactly the description… We can’t know whether decisions are helping America, or helping America and helping them privately.”

The UAE fund told 60 Minutes the investment was based solely on “business suitability.”

The report comes weeks after Trump sat for his first 60 Minutes interview since settling his lawsuit against CBS — and months after Pelley publicly warned that “freedom of speech is under attack” in the early phase of Trump’s second term.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)