{"id":330321,"date":"2025-10-25T00:13:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T00:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/330321\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T00:13:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T00:13:20","slug":"cbs-evening-news-says-nothing-about-trump-pardon-of-crypto-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/330321\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS Evening News Says Nothing About Trump Pardon Of Crypto CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAmong the broadcast networks, the CBS Evening News<\/a> on Thursday was the only news program not to mention Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s sudden pardon of money-laundering cryptocurrency billionaire Changpeng Zhao.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile ABC, CBS and PBS all covered the somewhat surprising legal break delivered to the convicted Canadian-born Binance founder, it was crickets on the Bari Weiss<\/a>-controlled former home of Walter Cronkite. Fox doesn\u2019t have a nightly news show, but the pardon was covered by the likes of the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal and Fox News as well CNN, the New York Times, AP, Reuters, Axios and many more.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith the pardon unveiled Thursday morning, the absence of any story on Zhao \u2014 one of the day\u2019s biggest stories \u2014 is all the more noticeable as questions emerge over the entwinement the Binance boss has had in recent months with the Trump family\u2019s lucrative crypto companies. Add to that the fact that one of the major elements of the Biden administration\u2019s prosecution of Binance and its ex-CEO is the lack of oversight the crypto exchange provided to crack down on widespread criminal and terrorist use of the platform.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecifically, that terrorist use included the likes of Hamas<\/a> using Binance for its finances. In addition, global gangs moved around funds that came out of child sex trafficking, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

\n\tEntering a guilty plea in 2023 and stepping down from the Binance top job, Zhao got out of prison after four months in September 2024. Even with that punishment, the exec lost none of his controlling shares in the company, and with this week\u2019s pardon he could move right back in to the crypto C-Suite.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the regular White House briefing Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered that Trump had \u201cexercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.\u201d In case you didn\u2019t pick up what Leavitt and Trump were putting down, the press secretary then added: \u201cThe Biden Administration\u2019s war on crypto is over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn that context, last night\u2019s CBS Evening News led with the NBA gambling scandal arrests<\/a>, the administration\u2019s \u201cexpanding military campaign against drug trafficking in South America,\u201d and interviews with Customs and Border Patrol\u2019s Greg Bovino and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker over harsh ICE<\/a> crackdowns in Chicago.<\/p>\n

\n\tHalfway through the broadcast, a segment on the much-criticized demolition of the White House\u2019s East Wing for Trump\u2019s new donor-funded ballroom took center stage. In a follow-up, the broadcast took a look at the ongoing shutdown of the federal government and the fallout and delays being experienced at major U.S. airports. Towards the end of the broadcast, Gayle King<\/a> previewed a October 24 CBS Mornings<\/a> segment on the final performance of Misty Copeland at the American Ballet Theatre.<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, from top to bottom, nowhere on the John Dickerson- and Maurice DuBois-anchored show was there even a mention of Zhao\u2019s pardon, or his business relationships with the Trump family.<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course, journalists decide every hour of every day which stories are newsworthy and need to be reported on and which ones don\u2019t make the cut. However, whatever the judgment call, the absence of a big deal like the Zhao pardon does stand out, if nothing else for the political and geopolitical aspects of it.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt is worth noting the Zhao pardon was covered in a written piece on the CBS News website<\/a>, with an update at 6:33 p.m. ET on October 23. As well, CBS Evening News\u2018 official X feed sent out a post as recently as 7:30 a.m. PT today.<\/p>\n

\n\tHowever, reps for CBS News<\/a>, which Free Press founder Weiss has been running for Paramount<\/a> chief David Ellison<\/a> since earlier this month, did not respond to Deadline\u2019s request for comment on the lack of coverage of the Zhao pardon.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Ellison has publicly offered a neutral political stance as his vision for CBS News, his appointment of Weiss as well as former Trump officials throughout CBS News and his inner circle has raised eyebrows. Those brows have gone even higher amid Paramount\u2019s ongoing vigorous multibillion-dollar pursuit of Warner Bros Discovery \u2014 a pursuit partially fueled by the implied promise that the well-connected Paramount can get the whole deal approved by the feds faster than anyone else.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter some pink-slipping and culling (hello, Stephen Colbert) by the previous Shari Redstone regime, Ellison\u2019s Skydance did receive quick regulatory approval of the $8 billion Paramount purchase once the corporate scalpings were done.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDonald Trump speaks during a law enforcement roundtable at the White House on Thursday<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJim Watson\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the other hand, and probably causing ulcers down at the Melrose lot, Trump has repeatedly referred to Ellison and his Oracle-founding father Larry, the world\u2019s second-richest man, as \u201cfriends of mine and \u201cbig supporters of mine.\u201d Trump also said of the Ellisons that \u201cthey\u2019ll do the right thing\u201d and will unlock the \u201cgreat potential\u201d of CBS News, which hasn\u2019t always been POTUS\u2019 most admiring outlet, if you know what I mean?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo friend of the Trumps, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Thursday pilloried the pardon.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFirst, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge,\u201d the former presidential candidate said. \u2018Then he boosted one of Donald Trump\u2019s crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon. Today, Donald Trump did his part and pardoned him. If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption in pending market structure legislation, it owns this lawlessness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for current UAE resident Zhao, who goes by CZ online and elsewhere, and Binance \u2026 he said it all. \u201cDeeply grateful for today\u2019s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America\u2019s commitment to fairness, innovation and justice,\u201d Zhao wrote on X.<\/p>\n

\n

Deeply grateful for today\u2019s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America\u2019s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.
\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f<\/p>\n

Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide. <\/p>\n

(Still in flight, more posts to come.)\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 CZ \ud83d\udd36 BNB (@cz_binance) October 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\t\u201cWe thank President Trump\u00a0for his leadership and for his commitment to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world,\u201d a Binance spokesperson said after the pardon was made public. \u201cCZ\u2019s vision not only made Binance the world\u2019s largest crypto exchange but shaped the broader crypto movement. Binance remains focused on building a secure, transparent and user-first platform that reduces fees and increases access to the financial system for all.\u201d<\/p>\n