Cameron Adams , The Daily Beast ; CBS Cuts Trump’s Corruption Tantrum From ‘60 Minutes’ Edit
[Kip Currier: Read the transcript, some of which is excerpted below from CBS' transcript of an 11/2/25 60 Minutes interview by Norah O'Donnell. Staggering obfuscation and communication deficits by Trump.
If Trump truly doesn't know about this cryptocurrency billionaire he pardoned, that is appalling and incompetent conduct.
If he does know of him, he's not being truthful and/or transparent.
And given the known financial ties between Trump's family and the man he pardoned, a legitimate appearance of pay-for-play corruption exists.]
[Excerpt]
"NORAH O'DONNELL: Do I have the opportunity to ask you two more questions?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: If you want, if it helps-
NORAH O'DONNELL: Okay. Okay. Two more questions-
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: That means they'll treat me more fairly if I do- I want to get- It's very nice, yeah. Now is good. Okay. Uh, oh. These might be the ones I didn't want. I don't know. Okay, go ahead.
NORAH O'DONNELL: Is everybody ready?
NORAH O'DONNELL: This is a question about pardons. The Trump family is now perhaps more associated with cryptocurrency than real estate. You and your son- your sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have formed World Liberty Financial with the Witkoff family.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Right.
NORAH O'DONNELL: Helping to make your family millions of dollars. It's in that context that I do wanna ask you about crypto's richest man, a billionaire known as C.Z. He pled guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money laundering laws.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Right...
In the aired interview, O’Donnell asks Trump, “How do you address the appearance of pay-for -play?” To which he responded, “Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about…”
However, when O’Donnell again asked if Trump was “concerned about the appearance of corruption” over pardoning CZ due to the links to his family, the transcript revealed the president became annoyed.
“I can’t say, because—I can’t say—I’m not concerned. I don’t—I’d rather not have you ask the question. But I let you ask it. You just came to me and you said, ‘Can I ask another question?’ And I said, yeah. This is the question... ”
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I can't say, because- I can't say- I'm not concerned. I don't- I'd rather not have you ask the question. But I let you ask it. You just came to me and you said, "Can I ask another question?" And I said, yeah. This is the question-"
