Elizabeth Warren’s Lawyer Fires Back At CZ Defamation Threat, Says Trump Pardon Comment Was Accurate
Senator Elizabeth Warren has fired back against Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, after he threatened to sue her for defamation, with her lawyer calling his claim “without merit” and defending her comments about his Trump pardon as accurate. Zhao’s lawyer had accused Warren of falsely claiming he pleaded guilty to money laundering. But Warren’s counsel said in a letter that Zhao admitted under oath to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement anti–money laundering controls at Binance. Warren’s lawyer said her comments were based on “publicly available and widely reported facts.” The letter also cited reports that Binance had lobbied Trump for almost a year to secure Zhao’s pardon and then listed tokens tied to his World Liberty Financial project. Even without Warren’s legal protections as a senator, her counsel added, Zhao would still have to prove she acted with “actual malice,” making his de...