Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks at the American Jewish Committee Board of Governors Meeting

President Donald Trump said he pardoned Changpeng Zhao, a billionaire who boosted a crypto company owned by the Trump family, because "a lot of people" said he was innocent.

During a Thursday Oval Office event, a reporter asked whether Zhao's pardon had anything to do with his family's World Liberty Financial crypto venture.

"I do pardon a lot of people," Trump replied. "A lot of people say that he wasn't guilty of anything. He served four months in jail, and they say that he was not guilty of anything."

"That what he did, well, you don't know much about crypto," he told the reporter. "You know nothing about nothing, you know, fake news. But let me just tell you that he was somebody that, as I was told, I don't know him. I don't believe I've ever met him. But I've been told by — a lot of support, he had a lot of support. And they said that what he did is not even a crime."

Trump claimed that Zhao had been "persecuted by the Biden administration," even though he pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements.

"So I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people," Trump concluded.

Andrew Cuomo warned Stephen A. Smith that Trump will literally "take over" New York City if Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the race.

The post Andrew Cuomo Warns Stephen A. Smith Trump Will Send Military to ‘Take Over’ NYC if Mamdani Wins first appeared on Mediaite.

The Department of Justice has charged U.S. House Democratic candidate Kat Abughazaleh for allegedly impeding law enforcement following a September protest at the Broadview ICE facility in Chicago.

In addition to Abughazaleh, the DOJ also charged Michael Rabbitt, Andre Martin, Catherine Sharp, Brian Straw, and Joselyn Walsh. Authorities alleged that the group surrounded an ICE agent's vehicle and damaged it.

Abughazaleh, a former journalist, was accused of bracing her body against the vehicle. The indictment also claimed that someone scratched the word "PIG" on the car.

In a video posted to X, Abughazaleh said she was exercising her First Amendment rights.

"This is a political prosecution and a gross attempt to silence dissent, a right protected under the First Amendment," she explained. "This case is a major push by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish anyone who speaks out against them."

A video shared by DHS in September showed Abughazaleh being thrown to the ground by an officer outside the Broadview facility.

"Individuals and groups impeding ICE operations are siding with vicious cartels, human traffickers, and violent criminals," the post claimed. "You will not stop @ICEgov and DHS law enforcement from enforcing our immigration laws."

"I love watching communists get body slammed by ICE," Trump insider Laura Loomer responded, according to MSNBC.

"Good work," Fox News host Laura Ingraham agreed.