Viktor Bout release 'shows the world another weakness' of the US: Derek Maltz
Former DEA Special Ops Director Derek Maltz joins 'Fox & Friends Weekend' to discuss the release of Viktor Bout and what the trade means for foreign policy.
Washington Post columnist Max Boot claimed that President Joe Biden paid a "disturbingly high price" for getting WNBA player Brittney Griner out of Russian jail, having to trade a vicious international arms dealer to Russia for the basketball star.
In his Monday column, Boot did acknowledge his relief that Griner is safe in the U.S., after she was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison for carrying vape cartridges containing oils derived from cannabis through a Moscow airport in February. Though the liberal columnist insisted that freeing Viktor Bout, a man who was imprisoned by the U.S. for conspiring to kill Americans, was costly.
He also argued the swap signals to other nations that the U.S. is "in the business of paying off hostage-takers."
DOJ OFFICIALS CALL BIDEN’S GRINER, ‘MERCHANT OF DEATH’ SWAP ‘MISTAKE,’ ‘MADNESS’
FILE - This combo of images shows Viktor Bout, left, a suspected Russian arms dealer at the criminal court in Bangkok, on Aug. 20, 2010 and WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner, right, in a court room prior to a hearing, in Khimki, outside of Moscow, Russia, on July 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, left, and Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Boot opened his piece, stating, "I am very glad that basketball star Brittney Griner is back in the United States after having been imprisoned in Russia on trumped-up charges. But I am also very uneasy about the method of her release."
He described the swap, writing, "In return for her freedom, President Biden agreed to set free Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer who was serving a 25-year prison sentence on charges of conspiring to sell weapons to kill Americans."
Boot began his criticism by questioning the idea of prisoner swapping in general. He stated, "We need a serious discussion about whether this is the right policy for Washington to follow. Should we be winning the release of those currently detained at the risk of creating more hostage crises in the future?"
He wrote, "There is legitimate cause for concern that such deals make us more vulnerable, as Republican critics now charge, but they didn’t start with Biden. President Ronald Reagan traded arms for hostages with Iran. President Barack Obama set free five senior Taliban leaders from Guantánamo Bay to return U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from Afghanistan."
PAUL WHELAN’S BROTHER CALLS OUT DONALD TRUMP’S ‘REALLY OFFENSIVE’ RESPONSE TO GRINER-BOUT SWAP
In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service, WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in the plane as she flies to Abu Dhabi to be exchanged for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, in Russia, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. (Russian Federal Security Service via AP)
He then tore into the trade of Bout specifically. He declared, "Now, Biden has chosen to pay a disturbingly high price for Griner’s freedom. It’s not entirely clear why Russian dictator Vladimir Putin wanted Bout back so badly, but he is closely linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU."
Boot warned, "Although it’s been 12 years since Bout was arrested in Thailand and extradited to the United States, he might still have smuggling networks that could be of use to Putin in waging the war in Ukraine."
Grilling the Biden administration’s decision even harder, the columnist stated, "Besides setting free a dangerous international criminal known as the ‘merchant of death,' the deal sent a message to the entire world that the United States remains in the business of paying off hostage-takers. That can only encourage more unlawful detentions of Americans."
Boot then took an opportunity to trash "MAGA Republicans" criticizing Biden for the move. He wrote, "Instead of engaging on the merits of Biden’s difficult decision, MAGA Republicans are displaying breathtaking (if entirely unsurprising) bigotry, cynicism and political opportunism in their desperate desire to deny a Democratic president credit for any achievement."
NBC News issued an embarrassing correction after reporting President Biden could have received Paul Whelan, instead of WNBA star Brittney Griner, in the White House’s controversial trade for the "Merchant of Death." (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP/AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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He claimed that Republicans criticizing Biden over not additionally acquiring U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan in the swap, are "suddenly bringing him up to score partisan points."
Boot slammed them on another point, stating, "Likewise, Republicans who regularly applauded Trump’s hostage-release deals are expressing concern that, as House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) said, the Griner-for-Bout deal ‘made us weaker.’"