Britney Griner Freed in Prisoner Swap
Breaking News
CBS BREAKING: “Brittney Griner released by Russia in 1-for-1 prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout, U.S. official says“
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was held for months in Russian prisons on drug charges, was released Thursday in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, according to a U.S. official. The one-for-one exchange agreement negotiated with Moscow in recent weeks was given final approval by President Biden within just the last week, according to sources familiar with the deal. The swap, first reported by CBS News, took place on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates.
Five former U.S. officials told CBS News the agreement had been reached as of last Thursday.
A White House official said President Biden was in the Oval Office Thursday morning on the phone, speaking with Griner and her wife, and that Vice President Kamala Harris was also in the room. Per standard procedure for freed U.S. prisoners, Griner was expected to quickly undergo a medical evaluation.
President Biden is expected to speak at 8:30 a.m. Eastern at the White House about the prisoner swap that saw Brittney Griner released. You will be able to watch his remarks live in the player at the top of this page.
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.
Notably, the Griner-for-Bout exchange leaves retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan imprisoned in Russia. Whelan has been in Russian custody for nearly four years. He was convicted on espionage charges that the U.S. has called false.
That Griner has finally been freed from her outrageous imprisonment is unalloyed good news. I do not, however, like the precedent of turning over an actual criminal in an even exchange. Doing so not only legitimates her treatment but incentivizes other regimes to do likewise.
As I noted in my previous post on this situation, “Russia’s Absurd Demands for Griner and Whalen Release,” Whelan isn’t a “retired” Marine; he’s a former Marine who was dishonorably discharged. Still, it’s odd that the Biden administration prioritized a basketball player who has been held since February over another citizen who has been held for four years.
Let’s hope Whelan will follow soon.
Still…way to go, Brandon!
Do we really know if Griner was “prioritized” or rather the administration talking advantage the offer on the table. Maybe the price for Whalen was too steep and they took what they could get?
I have to say that I have always had the feeling there is something more to the Whalen case that meets the eye and we just aren’t getting the full story. I confess I can’t seem to put my finger on it but his whole story seems odd. I mean Griner went there to play professional basketball and was a high profile athlete who got careless and the Russians saw an opportunity to make a big deal out of it. The story about Whalen being in Moscow to attend the wedding of a marine buddy is just odd. I mean who has a destination wedding in Russia? 🙂
I’m not making an accusation accusation here, I just don’t know. But it still stakes me as odd.
From the Whalen family;
Making a deal for Griner, can be interpreted as sheding a bit of flattering light on Putin as well. His apologists can tout how reasonable the Ruskies are.
@Rick DeMent:
I agree. The Whalen case had so many “wtaf” aspects to it, I couldn’t decide if he was an idiot who got duped and trapped or if he was playacting Superspy and something went wrong, or something else. It’s a strange story.
Griner’s story, on the other hand, was pretty straightforward.
Apparently the negotiations were mediated by the MBS and the Saudi’s.
I’m sure it’s a coincidence that the Biden administration recently granted MBS immunity, as the sitting head of a foreign government, from prosecution in the Khashoggi bone-saw murder.
The only thing I care about is that Griner was released and is coming home.
She was being used by the Russian government as a token, a tool, a lever. The arrest and imprisonment and trial was orchestrated for political effect.
Message sent. I got you. No tourist should ever visit Russia, ever, because you might end up as a geopolitical pawn in a global power play showdown. Message received. Don’t visit Russia! Gotcha.
She was busted for allegedly having a cannabis dab. 1. Who cares if so? 2. I do not trust Russian authorities to tell the truth. 3. She was sent to a modern day gulag for an alleged extremely minor offense.
I am very glad she is coming home. If she decides to play again in the WNBA I would welcome it because she is a compelling bad-ass basketball player. She kicks ass. If she decides not to that is completely understandable. I wish her well.
The crappy thing is that I have always wanted to visit St. Petersburg, and, now, never will.
Putin made Russia into the new North Korea in terms of tourism.
@Rick DeMent:
I saw this on Twitter:
“NEW: A senior U.S. official tells @NBCNews
they tried everything they could to get Paul Whelan out, but ‘they are treating him differently. They say he is an espionage case. They said the choice was either one [Griner] or none.'”
I am so relieved for her, her family and dear ones. May they have a peaceful holidays.
@daryl and his brother darryl: And Xi Jinping is in SArabia. Not that he’d intervene for Griner, but MBS is putting toe in water.
Reaction from the moral void that is the Trump family:
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-brittney-griner-loaded-drugs-russia-1765709
@Kingdaddy: From your link
I can’t imagine why anyone might have felt a need to investigate connections between Trump and “Russia, Russia, Russia.”
@de stijl:
The “war” on drugs is far more damaging than the drugs themselves.
A case played out earlier in the year in the Dominican Republic. The crew of a small Canadian charter jet found bags of cocaine stashed in the plane’s avionics bay. That’s not a place where any stuff gets stored, ever. they reported it to the local police, and to the authorities back in Canada.
They were all detained for months, without charges, some or all were jailed for several days. In the end they were allowed to return home without charges ever being filed. They were investigated for “possession.”
@Rick DeMent:
I went to a destination wedding in Munich. And that was before the phrase “destination wedding” had any social meaning.
Jon is my best friend and El is a lovely, awesome person and they a perfect match (and still are). I was co-Best Man; I had an on the ground compatriot in Munich.
Lets not forget that Trevor Reed, another former Marine, was also released by trade in April.
Steve
@daryl and his brother darryl:
The immunity thing plays out at a much, much higher level. Imagine, given all the extradition treaties and so forth, if any government could file charges against another country’s head of state and demand their extradition? The fact that MSB is a vicious low-life thug makes us all want to get him in any way we can, but embracing chaos to get it done is not worth it.
Wow – the RWNJ’s are losing their friggin’ minds over this.
Whalen was taken while Trump was President…and still dry-humping Putin’s leg…why didn’t he get Whalen out?
The RWNJ’s don’t want to talk about that.
@MarkedMan:
You’re right, of course.
Looking at Whalen’s wikipedia page it seems he was court-martialed and dishonorably discharged for larceny and stealing someone’s SSN. That’s an actual crime here and an actual crime anywhere and whatever he did in Russia has the hapless aura of a guy in over his head in something involving money, bullshit, and policing. I’m not surprised he’s still there.
I just realized that this Viktor Bout guy was the primary inspiration for the Nicholas Cage character in Lord of War.
@daryl and his brother darryl:
Because the deplorables don’t actually care about Paul Whelan. The deplorables are just frustrated about Biden/Democrat wins and GQP losses piling up.
They’re still mad their inflation inflation inflation crime crime crime Red Wave didn’t materialize, mad gas prices are falling, and mad the US economy is stubbornly resilient so the great big Bidenecession isn’t happening. So of course they’re mad about the latest Biden win, and doubly mad that it involves three identities they hate: black and queer and woman.
Paul Whelan just provides cover for their anger and frustration, but it’s really about Bidenism and America winning while Trumpism and Republicans keep losing.
Truth is, even if Trump and Pompeo had prioritized his case (they didn’t) Whelan wouldn’t have been released. Because Whelan is a crook, from his crimes that got him booted from the US military to whatever shady crap he was doing with Russian spies that got him jailed in Russia. It’s going to take a very heavy lift to bring him home, and I’m guessing Biden’s team pulls that off too.
@Stormy Dragon: Given Bout’s crimes, it was already shocking he was only going to serve 25 years. That he’s a free man after serving only 11 — because of a stinkin canabis vape pen! — is doubly shocking.
*But* since he only got 25 years to begin with, releasing him after 11 to secure Griner’s release is sensible.
@daryl and his brother darryl:
He didn’t even try. Whelan’s sister tried for months to get Trump to even acknowledge Whelan existed. Trump’s White House eventually just kicked the whole matter down to Ambassador Huntsman who tried his best, but with no top cover from the administration he didn’t get far.
While I understand the general downsides of possibly incentivizing future bad behavior, I can’t but be happy Griner was released. I cannot accept the notion that Bout’s punishment was morally more important than alleviating the injustice of Griner’s imprisonment.
(And watching a bunch of Americans on Twitter and elsewhere be upset that an American was freed because they see it as the “other side” getting a win is just more than a bit stomach-churning).
@DK: Well, yeah. And consider that Bout is 11 years behind the current arms market and 11 years out of touch with his former clients and contacts. They’ve moved on and he’s been burned but good.
And there are 2 more things to consider:
1. He’s going to be going to Russia, isn’t he? That doesn’t sound like much fun. He has enemies there.
2. The US Government and taxpayers are no longer going to be responsible for his food, lodging or medical care. Instead, we get an actual productive citizen back. A+ in my book.
@rachel:
14 years actually. Bout was jailed overseas for ~3 years before the US was able to get him extradited. And to your point, yes, I hope he is not able to return to his nefarious ways. Easily or at all. Although I’m sure Putin has a job waiting for him.
@rachel: @DK:
This and This.
The Republican Media ecochamber is ALWAYS going to set up a greavance dynamic. “THEY won..so YOU lose”. Thats why it almost laughable to apply real analysis to their position. Their position is almost always chosen in BAD faith.
Griner is an innocent civilian pawn in dirty game of geopolitics that Bout and Whelan are/were participants. The Russians had all the leverage so they got to name their price. All the righteous indignations are for suckers and amateurs. The game never ends…. so we’ll get our pound of flesh out the Russians somewhere else.
Further, Americans are conditioned to think Arms Dealing works like Blacklist. In the real world you don’t sit on ice for 13 years and roll into the game and start supplying arms. He has no supply chain and the people that filled his vacuum aren’t going to simply hand over market share. He’s likely done on the International stage
@Steven L. Taylor:
IMO the “moral hazard” aspect is BS. Everybody knows the random grabbing of trade-fodder/hostages will surely result in reciprocal grabbings of one’s own nationals so it has never become a problem of any meaningful scale.
@Jim Brown 32:
I believe what is written on the blackboard at media school these days, and right at the top with a note “DO NOT ERASE”, is:
“The very first thing you do when you have a story is find somebody, anybody, it pissed off and put them on.”
@Steven L. Taylor:
Forget “morally” Steven… Is the world better off with Bout free and Griner not having to face the consequences of her (admitted) actual crime?
I realize I’m in the minority here, but it seems to me that (setting aside issues of unequal enforcement) we have an actual American petty criminal being freed in exchange for an actual Russian supervillian. How is this a win?
James: “Still, it’s odd that the Biden administration prioritized a basketball player who has been held since February over another citizen who has been held for four years.”
The entire right looks at Biden accomplishing something and disses it.