U.S. Congressional Hearing Directly Questions: Was CZ Pardoned for Funding the Trump Family? Treasury Secretary Bessent Refuses to Answer Senator Andy Kim pressed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao on whether his pardon constituted a conflict of interest. Zhao was previously jailed for violating anti-money laundering regulations. Binance later injected billions of dollars into Trump family businesses, and Changpeng Zhao subsequently received a presidential pardon. Bessent stated that pardons are outside her scope of responsibility and refused to answer directly.