Rep. Mark Green slams Biden's 'weakness' for failing to secure Paul Whelan's release: 'Terrible message to send'
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the Biden administration's prisoner swap to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Critics blasted the deal the Biden administration made to get WNBA player Brittney Griner back to her home in the U.S. after she was sentenced to Russian prison for nine years on drug-related charges.
For Griner's release, the U.S. government agreed to release international arms dealer Viktor Bout to the Russian government, who had been arrested by the DEA in Thailand in 2008 and was put in U.S. custody.
Bout, who has been called the "Merchant of Death" by his accusers, was convicted of conspiring to kill Americans. Many on Twitter pointed out that Bout was the inspiration for the Nicolas Cage movie "Lord of War."
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WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner holds images standing in a cage at a courtroom for a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)
In addition to critics claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin got the upper hand in this deal by getting back its "Merchant of Death," they slammed Biden for the fact that the U.S. did not even get back U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan. Whelan has been sitting in a Russian prison since 2018 with a 16-year sentence for espionage charges.
As Fox News Digital reported, the Biden team had originally requested Griner and Whelan released for Bout, but that fell through.
Critics on Twitter torched the whole deal, with some calling it the worst trade they had ever seen.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy brutalized the trade in his Thursday morning tweet, writing, "This is great news till you Google who Victor Bout is and realize Biden just got taken to the woodshed on this deal. This has to go down as the most lopsided trade in the history of trades. What happened to Griner was beyond f---ed but this feels like a short sighted PR stunt."
Sports journalist and conservative podcaster Jason Whitlock was not impressed with the trade either, commenting, "Help me wrap my mind around this Griner-for-Death trade. Feels like one of the lowest points in US foreign policy history? Or am I exaggerating? Give me some perspective. What compares? Bay of BIG 2.0?"
Alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, right, walks past temporary cells ahead of a hearing at the Criminal Court in Bangkok on Aug. 20, 2010. (CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., rapid response director Christina Pushaw tweeted out an image of the Nicolas Cage movie, "Lord of War," reminding her followers Bout is the man who inspired that movie.
She commented, "So about the Russian criminal Biden freed in exchange for Brittany Griner—this movie covers his career funneling weapons to terrorists & conspiring to kill Americans. Biden just created an incentive for foreign countries to arrest more Americans to get more sweet deals like this."
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Former CIA member John Sipher tweeted, "While it’s nice that Griner is home, we need to be honest. This is playing Putin’s game. Bout was an actual criminal charged through a credible legal process recognized around the world. Griner was a hostage taken in order to extort us."
RedState author Bonchie tweeted, "To accomplish this, you put a murderous arms dealer back on the street, and you left the US Marine who has been there three years out of the deal. Griner shouldn't have been sentenced to nine years, but bragging like this? That's pretty gross."
National Review correspondent Jim Geraghty blasted President Biden’s tweet touting the swap. He tweeted, "And all it cost the U.S. was putting the world's most notorious arms dealer, with a near-ocean of blood on his hands, who equipped armies of child soldiers and sold weapons to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, back on the metaphorical streets."
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Cherelle Griner, left, wife of Olympian and WNBA player Brittney Griner, speaks after President Biden announced her release from Russian custody at the White House on Dec. 8, 2022 in Washington, D.C. Griner was released as part of a prisoner swap that involved Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)