On Thursday, the good news came down that the United States agreed to a prisoner exchange that secured Brittney Griner’s release from Russia. Unfortunately, former marine Paul Whelan was not included in that deal, but it wasn’t from a lack of trying.
ESPN’s T.J. Quinn reported that Russia offered the United States a one-for-one swap involving Griner and the Biden administration could either accept that deal or walk away from the negotiation table with nothing.
“Sources saying the US had been pushing to bring Griner and Paul Whelan home together, but Russian officials said it’s this deal or nothing. US decided to make the deal. Whelan’s family says they understand and the WH did the right thing.”
A White House official told Quinn that a one-for-one swap of Paul Whelan for Viktor Bout was proposed to Russia but he was described as a “non-starter.”
“Russia considers Whelan to be a different ‘class’ of prisoner than Griner because of his espionage conviction,” Quinn reported.
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Whelan has been in Russian custody for nearly four years. He was convicted on espionage charges that the U.S. has called false. Whelan told CNN in a phone call Thursday that he was happy Griner was free, but said he was “greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up.”
“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan,” Mr. Biden said Thursday, adding “we will never give up” on securing his release. U.S. officials told reporters that it became clear in talks with the Russians that the prospect of securing the release of both Griner and Whelan in exchange for Bout was a nonstarter, with one saying the U.S. had was “a choice between bringing home one particular American — Brittney Griner — or bringing home none.”
Griner was released Thursday in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout. To secure Griner’s release, the president ordered Bout to be freed and returned to Russia. Mr. Biden signed the commutation order cutting short Bout’s 25-year federal prison sentence.
The 32-year-old star center for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury was detained at a Russian airport in February and later pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the discovery of cannabis-derived oil cartridges in her luggage.
