What is the Biden administration thinking? Senior Staff has proposed trading a Russian arms dealer that is spending time in a U.S. prison for two Americans currently being held in Russia, Paul Whelan, and Brittney Griner.
The Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, would be allowed to leave prison and live freely back in his mother country. Bout, notoriously known as the Merchant of Death, is currently serving a 25-year sentence for attempting to sell weapons to a terrorist organization that had the intention to strike American forces supporting the Colombian government.
“The Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan,” said Antony Blinken, the United States Secretary of State.
Joe Biden is allowing Putin to use @brittneygriner as a political pawn.
Biden isn’t demanding a release – he’s looking for a prisoner swap…which will only encourage hostile governments to take more Americans in order to get a swap.
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) July 27, 2022
The Associated Press reports that this “major deal” was made weeks ago, but Russia has yet to respond to the offer. Senior staff in the Biden administration states that the United States “continues to express the offer at very senior levels.” Obviously, the ball is in Russia’s court.
Griner has been held since February due to drug-related allegations. She was originally held after the discovery of cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage at a Moscow airport.
She pled guilty for the cartridges when she was tried and now faces up to ten years in a Russian jail. Whelan has been detained since 2018 on what the United States claims are fictitious espionage charges. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Trading an arms dealer is hardly the shadiest thing our government has ever done. Get our girl back. @brittneygriner
— Robert J. O'Neill (@mchooyah) July 31, 2022
Initially, the Department of Justice opposed the trade, despite that it had the support of senior staff at both the State Department and White House. This information sources told CNN, which broke the story on Wednesday.
The alleged swap request follows the successful exchange of Konstantin Yaroshenko, a drug mule serving a 20-year sentence in the US for cocaine smuggling. He was traded for American, Trevor Reed, in April. Russian authorities claim Reed endangered “the life and health” of Russian police officers.
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Sources: Dailywire, Insider, Yahoo
