Biden Offers Russian Arms Dealer In Exchange For Detained WNBA Star Brittney Griner
After months of debate, the Biden administration has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker as part of a potential deal to secure the release of two Americans held by Russia, WNBA Star Brittney Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.
Sources told CNN that the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner received the backing of President Joe Biden after being under discussion since earlier this year. Biden's support overrides opposition from the Department of Justice, which is generally against prisoner trades.
A Kremlin spokesman said that “so far, there is no agreement on this issue.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday that a “substantial proposal” had been presented to Moscow “weeks ago” for Whelan and Griner.
Although Blinken did not directly confirm Bout was part of the deal, saying he “can't and won't get into any of the details of what we proposed to the Russians over the course of so many weeks now,” he said “in terms of the President, of course he was not only directly involved, he signs off on any proposal that we make, and certainly when it comes to Americans who are being arbitrarily detained abroad, including in this specific case.”
He told the press, "My hope would be that in speaking to Foreign Minister Lavrov, I can advance the efforts to bring them home.”
National Security Council Strategic Coordinator for Communications John Kirby said Wednesday that a senior administration official spoke with both the families prior to Blinken's announcement. President Biden spoke by phone with both Griner's wife and Whelan's sister.
Griner, who pleaded guilty in early July but said she unintentionally brought cannabis into Russia, testified Wednesday as part of her ongoing trial on drug charges, for which she faces up to 10 years in prison. It is believed that her trial will have to conclude prior to a deal being finalized.
The Russian government has frequently floated Bout as the subject of a potential trade for a number of Americans.
Asked at the Aspen Security Forum last week why Moscow is so interested in getting Bout back, CIA Director Bill Burns replied, “That's a good question because Viktor Bout's a creep.”
"The Russians over the years have certainly expressed an interest in in you know, Victor Bout's return but those are, as I learned in my old life, very complicated issues in terms of trying to sort through,” he said, referencing his long tenure as a diplomat.
Earlier this year, Trevor Reed, a former Marine who was held captive in Russia for more than two years, was swapped for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for cocaine smuggling.
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