Exclusive: Senate Dems move to condemn Trump's Binance pardon

Senate Democrats are moving to officially condemn President Trump's pardon of Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, the founder of crypto exchange Binance, Axios has learned.Why it matters: Some Senate Republicans have already criticized the pardon, with Democrats eyeing rare bipartisan pushback against the White House.Trump's pardon of CZ, who was facing four months in prison related to money laundering, likely provides a path for Binance to operate in the U.S. after more than a year of lobbying from the president.Democrats argue the pardon is blatant "corruption," urging Congress to take steps to avoid similar acts in the future.The resolution was led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), two longtime Trump foes.The big picture: The Trump family's crypto empire has drawn the ire of Capitol Hill this year. Their connection to Binance is only intensifying the scrutiny.In May, World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's crypto venture, announced that an Emirati state-backed venture fund would use World Liberty's new stablecoin to complete a $2 billion investment in Binance."We thank President Trump for his leadership and for his commitment to make the US the crypto capital of the world," a Binance spokesperson said in a statement.What they're saying: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said this week that the pardon "is a bad signal."Tillis told Semafor that it "opens up the aperture for future pardons."Warren issued a statement saying first CZ pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and then he "boosted" one of Trump's 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," Warren added.Between the lines: Congress is in the middle of negotiating major legislation about how to structure law for the crypto market. The CZ pardon will only complicate those talks.

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