Last week, the Biden administration was finally able to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner who was handed a 9.5-year sentence in Russia. Her crime was allegedly possessing an incredibly small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage when she arrived in Moscow last February where she played for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason.
In exchange for Griner’s freedom, the United States gave up arms dealer Viktor Bout, who’s apparently referred to as “the Merchant of Death,” and whose life was dramatized in the 2005 Nicolas Cage film “Lord of War”.
“She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home,” President Biden said on Thursday while speaking from the White House, adding, “Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along.” Cherelle Griner, Brittney Griner’s wife, also expressed her “sincere gratitude” adding that the couple would “remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul (Whelan)”, a former U.S. Marine who’s been jailed in Russia for the past four years on espionage charges.
Paul’s brother David Whelan told NBC News, “We do not begrudge Ms. Griner her freedom. As I have often remarked, Brittney’s and Paul’s cases were never really intertwined. It has always been a strong possibility that one might be freed without the other.”
The release of Griner unsurprisingly upset republicans in the United States and used her freedom as well as Whelan’s continued imprisonment as a political tactic in its wake. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called the prisoner swap “a gift” to Putin, while Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said it was “another reason” to impeach Biden. Meanwhile, Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas tweeted, “Trading a convicted arms dealer for a basketball player who kneeled for the National Anthem is a terrible deal.”
Ironically, Representative Gooden posted that tweet while actively displaying a banner image on his Twitter page portraying himself and Donald Trump who according to the New York Post, turned down a Whelan for Bout swap. Representative. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said, “I hope Britney Griner stands for The National Anthem now”, all while spelling her first name incorrectly.
At this point it’s unclear why Russia has been so adamant about getting Bout back but the speculation is he may have dirt on high-profile Russians that the Kremlin would rather not potentially get into U.S. hands.
As far as Whelan goes and the fake outrage with the GOP over his continued imprisonment, it’s pretty clear why Russia has been more reluctant to give him up, given the espionage charges he’s accused of. The outcry over Bout’s release and “Merchant of Death” framing by GOP members has also been comical. Apparently, Republicans have already forgotten the number of arms sold by the United States to countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel which are only used to slaughter Yemini’s and Palestinians respectively.
