US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s lawyer responded to allegations that she defamed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in a social media post after US President Donald Trump pardoned him.
The New York Post reported on Tuesday that Chao’s lawyer, Teresa Judy Guillen, threatened to sue Warren for “defamatory statements impugning his reputation” unless she removed X’s Oct. 23 post that pointed out “corruption” in Trump’s pardon of Chao the same day.
Warren’s attorney, Ben Stafford, said: letter “Any threatened claim of defamation would be without merit,” because the law “that Chow pleaded guilty to violating is the Anti-Money Laundering Act,” Judy Guillen said Sunday, obtained by Punchbowl News.
Warren said in her post on
The lawyer says the statement needs “actual malice.”
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 was sentenced in April 2024 to four months in prison by a federal court in Seattle.
Warren’s
Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg He owns I mentioned Binance helped create the World Liberty USD1 stablecoin. The stablecoin was also used in a $2 billion deal for state-owned Emirati investment firm MGX to buy a stake in Binance in March.
Politico reported on October 25 that Zhao’s pardon came after Binance and its legal team mounted a costly, months-long effort to win over key figures in Trump’s orbit.
Stafford, Warren’s attorney, argued in the letter that Warren
“A public figure like Mr. Chow cannot prevail in a defamation suit without providing evidence that the defendant published a false statement of fact with actual malice,” he added.
Zhao’s lawyer requests a retraction
Chao’s lawyer, Judy Guillen, said in the letter seen by the New York Post that he “will not remain silent while a U.S. Senator appears to abuse his position to repeatedly publish defamatory statements impugning his reputation.”
Related to: Trump’s crypto pardon raises concerns about ethics and corruption
The letter asked Warren to retract her statements in both her X post and the Senate resolution seeking to denounce Trump’s pardon of Chao, or Chao could “pursue all available legal remedies to address these false statements.”
Stafford argued that Warren
The letter added: “His
magazine: Bitcoin OG Kyle Chassé is one hit away from YouTube Permaban
The post Sen. Warren Says CZ Legal Threats ‘Without Merit’: Report first appeared on Investorempires.com.
