Elizabeth Warren rebuffs defamation allegations from Changpeng Zhao through lawyer: report

Senator Elizabeth Warren's lawyer, Ben Stafford, responded to a threatened defamation lawsuit from Changpeng "CZ" Zhao's attorney, Teresa Goody Guillén, regarding Warren's X post stating Zhao "pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge." Stafford's letter argues that Warren's statement was "true in all respects" because Zhao pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, which Stafford notes is described by the enforcing agency as the nation's primary anti-money laundering statute. Zhao's team contested this, claiming he pleaded guilty only to a single regulatory count—failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program—not a direct money laundering charge. Stafford countered that CZ did plead guilty to a criminal violation and that "'regulatory penalties' do not exist." Furthermore, the lawyer suggested that even if absolute immunity did not apply, Zhao, as a public figure, would struggle to prove the statement was false or published with actual malice.

(Source：The Block)