Trump says he doesn’t know crypto billionaire he pardoned

President Donald Trump last month granted a pardon to Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of a cryptocurrency exchange who had pleaded guilty to money-laundering violations in 2023 and whose company struck a business deal in May involving the Trump family’s crypto venture. But now the president has claimed he did not know who Zhao was.

Trump distanced himself from Zhao in an interview with “60 Minutes” broadcast Sunday, during which he was questioned about the decision to pardon Zhao, who pleaded guilty in 2023 after being accused of…