Senate Democrats have formally requested additional insights from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice regarding President Donald Trump’s pardon of Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, a co-founder of Binance.

In a letter released on Tuesday, seven Democratic senators addressed their concerns, stating that the pardon demonstrates to cryptocurrency executives and other white-collar offenders that they can act unlawfully without fear of repercussions. The senators accused Trump of enabling criminal behavior as long as it benefits him financially.

The letter draws attention to criticisms previously voiced by U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, who claimed that Trump offers significant advantages to cryptocurrency criminals who have contributed to his wealth.

The legislators, including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, Bernard Sanders, and others, assert that this pardon complicates Federal law enforcement’s ability to combat crime effectively.

In their correspondence, they argue that Trump’s pardon could significantly undermine federal law enforcement efforts and send a detrimental message to corporate criminals regarding the seriousness of the law.

Noteworthy among their concerns is whether Trump’s financial interests in Zhao affected his decision to grant the pardon, especially considering that Zhao had admitted guilt for breaching U.S. Bank Secrecy Act regulations by neglecting to uphold a proper Anti-Money Laundering framework.

“After Mr. Zhao’s company provided President Trump and his family with a revenue stream worth millions of dollars, President Trump pardoned him for criminal activity that he admitted to conducting.”

Upon pardoning Zhao, Trump stated that others indicated to him that Zhao’s actions “were not even a crime.”