MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell Blasts Trump Pardon Gaffes as ‘Immediately’ Impeachable if Biden Did It

MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell went off on President Donald Trump’s pleas of ignorance over a pardon he granted, saying such gaffes would “immediately” be met with demands for impeachment and “screaming” from reporters if former President Joe Biden made them.

Trump has repeatedly insisted he doesn’t “know anything” about  Changpeng Zhao, the crypto magnate he pardoned — most recently in a lengthy 60 Minutes interview that was cut down by almost two-thirds for broadcast.

On Monday night’s edition of MSNBC’s The Last Word, O’Donnell lashed out at Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) over the pardon — and bitterly noted that calls for impeachment would have “immediately” followed such a performance by a Democrat:

O’DONNELL: Donald Trump now wants you to believe that his pardon policy is as shambolic as his tariff policy. Donald Trump’s defense of a pardon for a cryptocurrency billionaire was to claim that he has no idea who that convicted criminal is, who he, Donald Trump, chose to pardon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORAH O’DONNELL, CBS NEWS HOST: The Trump family is now perhaps more associated with cryptocurrency than real estate. You and your sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have formed World Liberty Financial with the Witkoff family.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right.

N. O’DONNELL: — helping to make your family millions of dollars. Its in that context that I do want to ask you about crypto’s richest man, a billionaire known as CZ. He pled guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money laundering laws.

TRUMP: Right.

N. O’DONNELL: The government at the time said that CZ had caused significant harm to U.S. national security, essentially by allowing terrorist groups like Hamas to move millions of dollars around. Why did you pardon him?

TRUMP: Okay. Are you ready? I don’t know who he is. I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.

N. O’DONNELL: In 2025, his crypto exchange, Binance, helped facilitate a $2 billion purchase of World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin. And then you pardoned CZ. How do you address the appearance of pay for play?

TRUMP: Well, heres the thing. I know nothing about it because Im too busy doing the other —

N. O’DONNELL: He got pardoned. He got pardoned.

TRUMP: But I can only tell you — that I can only tell you this. My sons are into it. Im glad they are, because its probably a great industry, crypto. I think its good. You know, theyre running a business. They’re not in government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O’DONNELL: And then theres this from the Republican speaker of the house.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Last week, you came here to these mics and you were very critical of Joe Bidens use of the autopen, pardons, said he didnt even know who he was pardoning. But last night, on “60 Minutes”, the president, President Trump admitted to not knowing he pardoned a crypto billionaire guilty to money laundering. Does that also concern you?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I dont know anything about that. I didnt see the interview. You have to ask the president about that. I’m not sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O’DONNELL: So, did the autopen do it? Is that where that pardon came from of the crypto billionaire? Imagine — just imagine, if you will, that Joe Biden issued a pardon to a billionaire that he and his son were in business with. Republicans would have obviously immediately moved to impeach President Biden if he did something like that, and the White House press corps would have never stopped literally screaming about it in the White House press briefing room and screaming directly at President Biden whenever they got a chance to scream at him.

And then imagine that Joe Biden tried to defend that pardon to a billionaire who was making him and his son rich by saying, quote, “I know nothing about it.” President Biden would have been accused of lying or dementia or both. And quite understandably, no Democrat would have defended a Democratic president for issuing such a corrupt pardon.

Donald Trumps actual explanation for the pardon of the criminal who has made Donald Trump and his sons richer was, heres the thing, quote, “Heres the thing. I know nothing about it because Im too busy doing the other.”

He never told us what the other is. If Donald Trump had said in that interview, I know nothing about it. If he had been asked about tariffs, I would have welcomed that answer. As Donald Trump finally telling the truth. He knows nothing about tariffs.

Donald Trump knows absolutely nothing about a lot of things. But Donald Trump knows where his money comes from. Donald Trump knows who makes money for him. Donald Trump knows who gives him money.

Watch above via MSNBC’s The Last Word.