Elizabeth Warren rebuffs CZ defamation threat as ‘without merit’

A lawyer for US Senator Elizabeth Warren has hit back at allegations that she defamed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in a social media post following US President Donald Trump’s pardon of him.

The New York Post reported on Tuesday that Zhao’s lawyer, Teresa Goody Guillén, threatened to sue Warren for “defamatory statements that impugn his reputation” unless she removed an Oct. 23 X post that cited “corruption” in Trump’s pardon of Zhao that same day.

Warren’s lawyer Ben Stafford said in a letter to Goody Guillén on Sunday obtained by Punchbowl News that “any threatened defamation claim would be without merit,” as the law Zhao “pled guilty to violating is an anti-money laundering law.”

Warren said in her X post that Zhao “pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and was sentenced to prison,” which Zhao rebuffed online days later, saying “there were NO money laundering [charges].“

Statement needs “actual malice,” lawyer argues

Zhao pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program at Binance in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, and a Seattle federal court sentenced him to four months in prison in April 2024.

Warren’s X post added that Zhao “financed President Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon,” adding to criticism of Trump’s pardon due to ties between Binance and his family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.

The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have reported that Binance helped create World Liberty’s stablecoin USD1. The stablecoin was also used in a $2 billion deal for the Emirati state-owned investment firm MGX to buy a stake in Binance in March.

Politico reported on Oct. 25 that Zhao’s pardon came after Binance and its legal team undertook an expensive, months-long effort to win over key figures in Trump’s orbit.

Stafford, Warren’s lawyer, argued in the letter that Warren’s X post “is true in all respects and therefore cannot be defamatory,” and it “accurately represented publicly available and widely reported facts.”

“A public figure such as Mr. Zhao cannot prevail on a defamation claim without presenting evidence that the defendant published a false statement of fact with actual malice,” he added.

Zhao’s lawyer asks for retraction

Zhao’s lawyer, Goody Guillén, said in the letter seen by the New York Post that he “will not remain silent while a United States Senator seemingly misuses the office to repeatedly publish defamatory statements that impugn his reputation.” 

Related: Trump’s crypto pardons raise ethics and corruption concerns 

The letter asked Warren to retract statements in both her post on X and a Senate resolution seeking to denounce Trump’s pardon of Zhao, or Zhao could “pursue all legal remedies available to address these false statements.”

Stafford argued that Warren’s X post “simply references the fact that Mr. Zhao pled guilty to a violation of U.S. anti-money laundering law.”

“Her X Post does not state — and should not be construed to state — that he pled guilty to any other money laundering charge,” the letter added.

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