Trump pardons convicted Binance founder • Hacker News Board

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#521

Post by munk-a » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:10 PM UTC

dotnet00 wrote: post #486

returningfory2 wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, Biden pardoning his son was also widely condemned across the political spectrum as an abuse of the pardon power.

At the time that did reek of corruption and misuse of power, but given current state of things, it was the right move.

It protected one individual - there have been a rash of politically motivated moves by the justice department that have targeted plenty of others. I can understand the pardon but the fact that so many other people were left out to dry just reinforces our multi-tiered justice system.

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#522

Post by JumpCrisscross » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:10 PM UTC

dylan604 wrote: post #311

kbd wrote: post #233

The pardon power has been so abused these past few administrations that it's clear there should be constitutional changes in the pardon power, either congressional review, or strip it altogether.

Which congress do you want doing that review? The past several congresses have been unqualified to do any sort of constitutional reviewing in my opinion.

> Which congress do you want doing that review? The past several congresses have been unqualified to do any sort of constitutional reviewing in my opinion

States can reject dumb amendments. Congress proposes amendments, the states ratify them [1].

[1] https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-5/

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#523

Post by dragonwriter » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:11 PM UTC

IAmGraydon wrote: post #452

kbd wrote: post #233

The pardon power has been so abused these past few administrations that it's clear there should be constitutional changes in the pardon power, either congressional review, or strip it altogether.

The power to pardon needs to be removed all together. All it does is show that the President overrides the department of justice. How anyone ever thought this should be a thing, I have no idea.

> The power to pardon needs to be removed all together. All it does is show that the President overrides the department of justice.

The Department of Justice is subordinate to the President as part of the executive branch with or without the pardon power; if you want something other than "the President overrides the Department of Justice" as a matter of Constitutional law rather than an intermittently-observed convention of restraint (which Trump absolutely has not observed outside of the pardon power), you need a fundamental reformation of the Constitutional structure of government, far beyond the elimination of the pardon power.

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#524

Post by sejje » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:11 PM UTC

peter422 wrote: post #219

ugh123 wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I consider SBF's crime way less serious given that the end result actually made money for "victims"* which was the intended goal from the start. However Binance guy knowingly commits money laundering and gets the pardon? * Those victims who did not wait through the full asset recovery process and sold their debt to "vulture investors" for pennies on the dollar.

If your definition of “making money” is turning bitcoins into USD at bitcoins low point, and then paying that back to them in 2 years, alright. You can have whatever opinion you want about the bankruptcy process, but FTX was most certainly insolvent, due to fraud, and at that point whatever happened after the recovery to make people as whole as possible (which for many was not even close) really shouldn’t get credite…

If he gets the blame for buying them, he gets the credit, too.

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#525

Post by npteljes » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:12 PM UTC

nashashmi wrote: post #147

doener wrote: post #111

"President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family’s own crypto company." You Americans elected a mobster as President.

We Americans had our choices robbed of us. And we cannot think outside of the ballot sheet.

I agree with you. The system is ridiculous, it gives the voter two options, and that's all. People point out that monopolies are bad, but a duopoly is very far from being a solution for it. Americans (and many other countries in the world) need better representation.

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#526

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:12 PM UTC

jsbg wrote: post #334

bena wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, because he was guarding them against the current administration abusing the Justice Department to go after them. Same reason he pardoned Fauci and others. And from what we've seen, he was right to do so. Although, they've been angling to declare his pardons void so they can go after whoever they wish.

> Yeah, because he was guarding them against the current administration abusing the Justice Department to go after them. Same reason he pardoned Fauci and others. Are pre-emptive pardons a common thing for American presidents to do?

[deleted]

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#527

Post by CyberDildonics » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:15 PM UTC

bmandale wrote: post #223

TheBlight wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Is autopen a particular sore point in the US for some reason?

There is not, but right wing propaganda avoids lots of actual news, events and statements because it doesn't look good.

To fill the time there are lots of narratives about non issues without evidence.

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#528

Post by HDThoreaun » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:15 PM UTC

tastyfreeze wrote: post #484

cthalupa wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious set of questions here from someone desperately trying to understand people who voted for Trump and how to have conversations with them that can be productive. None of them are meant to be insulting or insinuate anything. To me, this sort of behavior just seems par for the course for how he has been acting since before his presidency. Did you follow his record in business and politics closely prior to voting f…

Not OP but I reluctantly voted for Trump because of the direction he proclaimed he wanted the country to go. I could not tolerate the direction the democrats were wanting to go as it seemed an inevitable path to civil war. But I knew Trump was shady and didn't like that he partied with Epstein in the 90s. A country takes a long time to change directions. I saw a chance for a smaller less restricting federal governmen…

> I could not tolerate the direction the democrats were wanting to go as it seemed an inevitable path to civil war.

Trumps action with ICE will lead to waco situations. Undocumented immigrants can obtain guns in this country and will not continue to go quietly into the night. Seems to me that his actions are far more likely to lead to civil war

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#529

Post by jsbg » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:16 PM UTC

whattheheckheck wrote: post #499

abbycurtis33 wrote: post #474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Do you have a complete list because thats literally what trump is doing. In no way shape or form is any past president comparable to the depravity and recklessness of trump its not even close. If you say its close you are so misinformed or ignorant or willfully evil. Seriously crypto scams, open bribery from kushner and the saudis, the Qatar jet, the gold card visas for the cartel family... the list of insane actions…

> Do you have a complete list because thats literally what trump is doing.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/07/biden-gra...

Re: Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

#530

Post by analog31 » Thu, Oct 23, 2025, 10:17 PM UTC

returningfory2 wrote: post #279

adgjlsfhk1 wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Nope, Biden pardoning his son was also widely condemned across the political spectrum as an abuse of the pardon power.

I was of two minds about that pardon. On the one hand it seemed like an abuse of pardon power. On the other hand, it was also reasonable at the time to expect abuse of presidential power to prosecute political enemies. So on balance I was OK with it. I think the compromise I'd like to see is to curtail both powers.