WSJ Report Covers Binance Comments
It also seems worth noting that Binance’s complaint claims that the Journal did not make any changes to its report to include the company’s statements; However, the report has clearly been edited.
For example, Binance’s lawsuit contests the subtitle of an article that said, “Weeks after Trump pardoned Binance founder, company was destroyed.” [the] Investigate and suspend the investigators.” However, reading that article currently shows that the subtitle now includes a note that “Binance declined to say whether the investigation was concluded or whether employees were fired for the concerns.” The archived version of the article shows that an update was made on the same day the article was published.
Additionally, a subsequent WSJ report today – confirming the Justice Department’s investigation into Binance – includes many, if not all, of the statements that Binance accused the Journal of refusing to put on the record.
For Binance, the lawsuit is unlikely to stop government investigations, especially as critics like Blumenthal continue to closely monitor the exchange’s alleged efforts to influence the Trump administration.
After Donald Trump controversially pardoned Binance founder Zhao for his 2023 crypto crimes, the president admitted that “I don’t know who he is.” Concerned by the pardon, some lawmakers like Blumenthal are concerned that “rather than actually stopping illegal use, Binance has sought to avoid accountability and influence the White House through lobbying and a financial partnership with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the cryptocurrency firm owned by the sons of President Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff.”
According to Blumenthal, Binance is now a “critical engine” of Trump’s family business, as “about 85 percent of WLFI’s stablecoin (USD1) is held in Binance accounts.”
Blumenthal is seeking a wide range of records to ensure that Binance is not using its potential influence to avoid accountability for its role in allowing “the illicit use of cryptocurrencies, including by Iranian and Russian entities, to circumvent U.S. sanctions.” Despite shedding some light on why Binance claimed it fired its compliance staff, Binance’s complaint, which relies on the exchange drawing the same conclusions from the WSJ report as the court, likely won’t satisfy the senator’s inquiry.
<a href