Warren Rebukes CZ’s Defamation Threat, Citing $4 Billion DOJ AML Plea
Senator Warren Changpeng Zhao’s defamation threat, citing official DOJ records to defend her statements.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren’s legal team formally responded on November 2, 2025, rejecting and defending her October 23 post that said:
“CZ pleaded guilty to a criminal money-laundering charge and was sentenced to prison. But then he financed President Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon. If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns it.”
The dispute stems from Warren’s criticism of , which she described as an example of “crypto billionaires purchaseing influence to escape accountability.” Zhao’s attorneys issued a defamation warning, demanding that the senator retract her post and issue a correction.
Details on Warren Rebuttal
In her legal rebuttal, Warren’s counsel argues that her post is “true in all respects,” grounded in the Department of Justice’s November 2023 release announcing that Zhao and Binance Holdings Limited pleaded guilty to criminal violations of U.S. anti-money-laundering (AML) laws under the Bank Secrecy Act. The DOJ described the case as an “anti-money-laundering failure” and confirmed a $4.3 billion settlement.
Zhao’s legal team countered that Warren mischaracterized the plea, noting he was convicted of failing to maintain an effective AML program—not of money laundering itself. Warren’s lawyers maintained that distinction is immaterial, writing that his conviction remains a “criminal charge” under AML provisions and that her phrasing accurately reflects the nature of the offense.
Her post added:
“First, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a criminal money-laundering charge. Then he boosted one of Donald Trump’s crypto ventures and lobbied for a pardon. Today, Donald Trump did his part and pardoned him.”
In response, Zhao’s attorney Teresa excellenty Guillén said:
“Mr. Zhao will not remain silent while a United States Senator viewmingly misuses the office to repeatedly publish defamatory statements that impugn his reputation.”
Zhao would face a steep challenge in pursuing litigation. As a public figure, he must prove actual malice—that Warren either knew her statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the reality. Her reliance on official DOJ filings, they add, makes that claim hard to sustain.
The controversy also touches on broader political tensions over Trump’s pardon and his campaign’s . Following the pardon, Warren and Representative Adam Schiff introduced a reanswer condemning what they called “a blatant act of political corruption,” accusing Trump of putting “crypto donors over the rule of law.”
Zhao’s 2023 guilty plea stemmed from Binance’s failure to implement legally required AML secureguards, allowing illicit transactions—including from sanctioned jurisdictions—to pass through its platform. The $4.3 billion reanswer remains among the largest corporate penalties in U.S. financial-crime history.
While Zhao’s legal threat remains unfiled, Warren’s team insists her comments are “constitutionally protected political speech,” point to her record as one of Washington’s most vocal financial-reform advocates.
