Live updates: Brittney Griner released from Russian prison, Biden gives remarks
NBCDec 24, 2022
The Facts
In television interviews on Sunday, Roger Carstens, the US hostage affairs envoy, said Biden’s admin. is “working hard” to free former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Russia in 2018 on spying charges.
More attention has been directed toward Whelan after the admin. swapped Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for WNBA player Brittney Griner in a deal with the Kremlin last week. Griner had been detained for 10 months on drug charges.
The Spin
Republican narrative
In making the Griner swap, the Biden admin. left behind an ex-Marine who has dedicated his life to his country and has been unjustly imprisoned on trumped-up charges. This was an amateurish move that stinks of wokeism and continues the president’s strategy of pandering to those he wants votes from. The US has now given up its one bargaining chip.
Democratic narrative
This wasn't a case of either-or — the Biden admin. made the difficult decision to secure the release of Griner rather than no American at all. There’s still work to be done, but Whelan will eventually be freed because Russia still wants plenty of other things that could be traded. No price will be too great to pay to bring Whelan home, and the admin. won’t stop trying until he has returned.