At Thursday’s White House press conference, Karine Jean-Pierre tried to skate around the fact Paul Whelan is still being held in Russia, while Brittney Griner has been released.
Whelan has been “wrongfully detained” since 2018 while Griner was detained this past February.
While discussing the situation at the press conference KJP said, “Unfortunately the choice became to bring Brittney home or no one. As the president said this morning, he will ‘never stop working to secure Paul’s release’. He will not give up.”
She then changed gears, “On a personal note, Brittney is more than an athlete, more than an Olympian, she is an important role model, an inspiration to millions of Americans, particularly LGBTQI+ Americans and women of color. She should have never been detained by Russia. We are, I am deeply proud of the work that the president has done.”
The Biden Administration has conveyed they will continue to work to secure Whelan’s release. Many have pointed out that Whelan has been detained longer than Griner, and that typically the person who has been detained longer is who they try to get released first. From the White House statements, it sounds that Whelan’s release may have not been on the table for Russia.
Many commentators have speculated that the bar has been set too high with who was exchanged for Griner, Viktor Bout an arms dealer who was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to kill Americans. Griner was convicted of a drug possession charge and had been sentenced to 9 years in a Russian work camp.
KJP made a personal note in her statement, calling Griner an inspiration to black women and the LGBTQI+ community. KJP herself is both a black woman and is also a member of the LGBTQI+ community, it seems she feels personally connected to Griner.
With Griner now freed we will see how much press coverage Whelan will get. Hopefully, the Biden Administration is able to secure his release.
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Stop calling that guy Brittney.
According to US Federal Law, possession of any amount of Hash Oil is a Third Degree Felony. Is an Professional Entertainer, who commits US Felonies, and smuggles Hash Oil into Russia a more important detainee than a Marine, who has been wrongfully detained for more than 4 years? (I think it is so “only for the Biden/Harris Administration.”