President Biden has released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in a trade to free WNBA star Brittney Griner.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Biden administration has traded high-level arms dealer Viktor Bout to get WNBA star Brittney Griner out of a Russian prison.
- Bout, a felon once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death,” was swapped by U.S. officials for Griner though the details of the negotiations were not publicly released.
- In August 2022, a judge in Russia convicted the basketball star of drug possession and smuggling and sentenced her to nine years of hard labor.
- Biden issued a statement saying he believed Griner was “wrongfully detained.”
- “Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates,” Biden said at the time.
PRESIDENT BIDEN ON THE RELEASE OF BRITTNEY GRINER IN TRADE FOR RUSSIAN ARMS DEALER:
“Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home,” Biden tweeted.
BACKGROUND:
- As the media continues to depict Russia’s Vladimir Putin in an evil light, television host Tucker Carlson revealed Wednesday night Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plan to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for allegedly failing to be loyal to his regime.
- “Whatever you think of the war in Ukraine, it is pretty clear that Zelenskyy has no interest in freedom and democracy,” Tucker said. “He is a dictator. He is a dangerous authoritarian who has used a hundred billion in U.S. tax dollars to erect a one-party police state in Ukraine.”
- Time magazine also announced the Ukrainian President would be named their 2022 “Person of the Year” this week.
