WATCH: CNN’s Abby Phillip Corners Scott Jennings on Trump’s Pardon of Crypto King

CNN’s Abby Phillip cornered Scott Jennings about President Donald Trump’s controversial pardon of a crypto kingpin who has business ties with the Trump family.

During a robust debate on CNN NewsNight on Monday, Phillip confronted the conservative commentator about Trump’s pardon of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who is commonly known as CZ.

Trump was asked about the pardon during an interview on 60 Minutes Sunday night and distanced himself from CZ, saying, “I don’t know who he is.”

But Phillip, on Monday night, spelled out the business ties between the Trump family and CZ, who pleaded guilty to money laundering violations in 2023.

“Binance hired people to lobby Trump while they are also in business with Trump’s family to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Phillip said. “Reuters just reported a couple of days ago, ‘The president and his family raked in more than 800 million dollars from sales of crypto assets in the first half of 2025 alone,’ OK? That is literally a business that Trump is in with this guy who they just executed a pardon for. And then Trump says, ‘I don’t know anything about it.’ And that’s OK?”

Jennings offered up a lukewarm defense of the president.

“Well, I think a few things could be true,” Jennings said. “One, I don’t doubt one bit that President Trump isn’t acquainted with the finer points of the crypto industry. I believe that. No. 2, it’s also true that presidents most often don’t personally know the people that they’re pardoning. And No. 3…people do…lobby administrations for pardons often. I think that’s probably what happened in this case. And I think there’s probably a group of advisors who heard the plea and recommended to the press.”

“Hold on,” Phillip said, interjecting. “So again, Trump says he doesn’t know anything about it. This wasn’t like a blanket pardon that was sent out to a bunch of people. It was one man, on one day — lovely day in October, OK? One man, right? So you’re telling me that Trump has no idea that he pardoned perhaps one of the most prominent people to ever be convicted in crypto — a business that his family is deeply embedded in. Again, you want us to believe that that is not something that he would know or understand. And that if he didn’t know and understand it, that would be OK with you.”

“I don’t want you to believe anything,” Jennings replied. “And I’m certainly not acquainted with all the details of it. I’m just telling you that I believe that the president probably doesn’t personally know this person.”

“I didn’t ask if he personally knew him,” Phillip said.

“I also believe that the president probably lobbied about this and I believe that a group of advisors probably told him that he was over-prosecuted by Biden,” Jennings added.

But Phillip promptly followed up.

“Do you think that he knows that his family is in business with his company?” Jennings said. “And you think that’s OK? Do you think that’s OK?”

“He got a recommendation,” Jennings said, shrugging.

“Do you think that it’s OK that he pardoned somebody that his family is right at this very moment in business with?” Phillip said. “And who, shortly after that pardon, sent out a message promoting the Trump family crypto business? You’re OK with that?”

Jennnings hesitated to reply, and was taken off the hot seat by two of his fellow panelists.

“That’s totally above board, obviously,” said former DNC co-vice chair David Hogg.

“A for effort,” added Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), mockingly, of Jennings’s less-than-robust defense of Trump.

Watch above, via CNN