Binance Founder CZ Deploys "Full Playbook" in Effort to Gain Pardon

Plus kangaroo-nicorns.

Author

Bruce Carton
August 11, 2025

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Clips ✂️

Flattery, Lobbyists and a Business Deal: Crypto’s Richest Man Campaigns for a Pardon

In 2023, as Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance, prepared to plead guilty to U.S. money-laundering violations, he fashioned a crash course for himself on clemency politics, reading books about business tycoons who had received pardons, including Marc Rich and Michael Milken.

Two years later, Mr. Zhao, a Chinese-born billionaire, is out of prison and mounting a pardon campaign of his own, backed by a sophisticated influence operation worthy of those high-profile predecessors.

Even at a time when many pardon seekers are paying hefty fees to lobbyists and lawyers with connections to President Trump, Mr. Zhao’s push stands out. The stakes could be enormous for the crypto industry, and Mr. Zhao and his team are deploying the full playbook of techniques that have helped deep-pocketed interests win preferential treatment from Mr. Trump.  

by NYT

William H. Webster, Who Ran Both the F.B.I. and the C.I.A., Dies at 101

William H. Webster, the only person ever to lead both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency, switching from lawman to spymaster while the bureau was investigating high crimes at the White House and the C.I.A., died on Friday in Warrenton, Va. He was 101.

by NYT

👉 The article notes that Webster’s life and career also included serving in the Navy (and in both WWII and the Korean War), and serving as a U.S. District Court Judge and later on the Eighth Circuit. He was also a partner at the law firm Milbank Tweed, and practiced law into his 90s.

Word of the Day: “Kangaroo-nicorn”

👉Australia’s tech scene is reportedly reaching “critical mass” with 43 “unicorns” — start-ups valued at more than $1bn. They call these Australian success stories “kangaroo-nicorns.”

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