Rioters at the U.S. Capitol fight to break through a police barrier on Jan. 6, 2021.

President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon Changpeng Zhao, the founder of a cryptocurrency exchange convicted of money laundering, is the most recent in a string of controversial pardon moves.

Trump has pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 1,600 people in his second term, after issuing clemency to another 237 people during his first term.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had "exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden administration in their war on cryptocurrency."

Binance had been a key supporter of the Trump family’s lucrative World Liberty Financial crypto venture, having accepted earlier this year a $2 billion investment made in a Trump family cryptocoin called USD1. “The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over,” Leavitt said.

Presidents have long used their constitutional authority to clear people's criminal records or allow them to walk free after serving a portion of their prison sentence.

Some presidents have chosen to pardon people they believe were treated unjustly, but many have been criticized for issuing pardons to close friends or political allies. Former President Joe Biden issued blanket pardons to his son Hunter Biden and brother James Biden before leaving office.

Here are eight other times Trump pardon stirred controversy.

George Santos

Trump commuted the sentence of former Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York who pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and identity theft, largely in relation to fundraising for his 2022 congressional campaign. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $370,000.

Santos became a celebrity after the news media picked apart his resume following his 2022 election, revealing a string of lies about his education, employment history and a fictional career as a college volleyball star. Bowen Yang played him on "Saturday Night Live."

Trump wrote on social media when announcing Santos' clemency: "George Santos was somewhat of a 'rogue,' but there are many rogues throughout our country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison."

Rod Blagojevich

The former Democratic governor of Illinois served eight years in prison for soliciting campaign funds and other favors in exchange for former President Barack Obama's Senate seat. Obama left the seat in 2008 to become president, and it was Blagojevich's job to appoint his successor.

Blagojevich was sentenced in 2012 to 14 years in prison. He was released in 2020 after Trump commuted his sentence. Trump issued him a full pardon in 2025.

Joe Arpaio

In 2017, Trump pardoned the former Arizona sheriff who had become notorious for hardline enforcement of immigration law in the Phoenix area. A federal judge ordered Arpaio to stop racial profiling of Latinos, and a different federal judge found him in contempt when he did not stop this activity. He would have served up to six months in prison for criminal contempt, but the pardon came before he was sentenced.

Trump said Arpaio was worthy of a pardon because he was 85 years old and had a more than 50-year record of "admirable service to our nation."

Paul Manafort

Trump pardoned Paul Manafort, the chairman of his 2016 presidential campaign, in December 2020. Manafort as sentenced to more than seven years in prison after he was found guilty of financial and tax fraud, and conspiracy and witness tampering in separate trials.

The charges stemmed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump told reporters after Manafort's sentencing, "It's a very sad situation."

Roger Stone

Trump pardoned Roger Stone, his friend and political operative, shortly before Stone was set to report for a three-and-a-half-year federal prison term for lying to Congress during Mueller's Russia investigation. Then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany described Stone as "a victim of the Russia Hoax."

Michael Flynn

Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security advisor, was prosecuted in connection with the Special Counsel's Russia probe. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his communication with a Russian diplomat. Trump pardoned Flynn in 2020.

Anti-abortion activists

Trump pardoned 23 people on Jan. 23 who were convicted of obstructing people from entering reproductive health clinics. Not all of them had been sentenced, and some had been sentenced to probation.

When signing the paperwork, Trump said, "Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted."

Jan. 6 prisoners

The day he began his second term, Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people charged for their actions during or related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, an event that sought to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

Trump referred to the rioters who stormed the Capitol as "political prisoners" and promised during his 2024 campaign that he would pardon them if he became president again. The people released from prison included Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced in 2023 to 18 years in prison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's latest unusual pardon is a crypto CEO. Here are 8 more.

Reporting by Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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