"He has pardoned more than a thousand people convicted on charges related to the events of January 6th, as well as dozens of fake electors and lawyers who supported those events. But some of the most egregious acts contain a financial element. Last month, Trump pardoned the Chinese Canadian billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who founded the crypto exchange Binance. In 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to report the use of the platform by terrorist entities and individuals sanctioned by the U.S. government."
"The pardon economy presents the possibility that, if you're nice enough to the President, a jury's judgment might be set aside. But you have to stay nice: on Newsmax, Trump mused about a potential pardon for Diddy, on his conviction for prostitution-related charges. "I got along with him great," the President said, "but when I ran for office he was very hostile." He added, "I'm being honest-it makes it more difficult to do.""
Trump issued 238 pardons and commutations in his first term and nearly two thousand less than a year into his second. Many pardons have gone to convicted individuals, creating a pardon economy where personal loyalty to the President can overturn jury judgments. Trump publicly considered pardoning figures like Diddy and has pardoned over a thousand people tied to January 6, dozens of fake electors, and allied lawyers. A high-profile pardon went to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to report platform use by terrorist entities and sanctioned individuals, amid reported links between Binance activity and a Trump-family–related stablecoin investment.
Read at The New Yorker
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