David Whelan, brother of imprisoned Marine: Russia may be keeping Paul as a ‘get-out-of-jail card’
David Whelan responds to the deal to swap WNBA player Brittney Griner for arms dealer Viktor Bout and discusses his brother Paul Whelan’s wrongful detention in Russia.
As news of Brittney Griner's release settles, critics are now looking more closely at the deal in which the WNBA player was freed in exchange for notorious arms deal Viktor Bout - also known as the "merchant of death."
Some are specifically questioning why Marine veteran Paul Whelan was not freed. One such critic is former President Donald Trump who called the deal "stupid" and "unpatriotic" in a post on Truth Social.
Paul's brother David Whelan hit back at President Trump for his comments, arguing his attitude is "disappointing" from a former president.
"I think that what President Biden did was to take care of an American who was in peril and bring home the American that he could bring home. So it's disappointing that a former president would have that sort of perspective," Whelan said.
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Whelan also added that "all Americans should be happy" Griner has been freed from wrongful detention, congratulating the WNBA player and her family on her release.
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a court room ater a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Aug. 4, 2022. On Thursday, she was freed in exchange for Viktor Bour, a convicted international arms dealer. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Paul Whelan has been in Russian custody for over four years at a labor camp in Russia's Mordovia republic. In 2018, while President Trump was in office, the Marine veteran was arrested and convicted on charges of espionage and spying for the U.S. government, facing up to 16 years in prison.
David Whelan called out President Trump for his "disappointing" perspective on the deal since his administration was unable to free Paul.
"My brother pleaded from his prison for President Trump to tweet about him during President Trump's term in office, and President Trump didn't," Whelan said on "Cavuto Live" Saturday. "And now to talk about Paul at all, it's really offensive."
Paul Whelan, a former US marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia in December 2018, stands inside a defendants' cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow on June 15, 2020. (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
"The U.S. government was not engaged in Paul's case for the first two years, and not all of that is President Trump's fault. I think the government wasn't prepared to deal with wrongful detentions by nation states. They were still focused on terrorist groups and hostages, the old-fashioned sort of approach," David Whelan said.
BIDEN PRISONER EXCHANGE FOR BRITTNEY GRINER LEAVES BEHIND MARINE VETERAN PAUL WHELAN - AGAIN
The Brittney Griner-Viktor Bout swap is the second time Paul Whelan has been left during the Biden administration. The first instance came in April 2022 when Marine veteran Trevor Reed was swapped for Russian drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko.
"If the president doesn't do something and then later claims that he did, then I'll call him on it, and I'll call President Biden after his term on it too if Paul is still in detention under another president."
Numerous other critics have sounded off on the deal, questioning why the Biden administration approved a one-for-one deal between the basketball player and the Russian arms dealer.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, tweeted out his thoughts, demanding an answer from the Biden administration on why Paul Whelan was excluded from the deal.
"This was likely not a simple ‘choose him or her’ situation. But if it was, you choose the guy that served our country, Paul Whelan. We should get an explanation from this administration immediately," Crenshaw tweeted.
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., also shared his criticism on Twitter Thursday. "Where is U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been unjustly held by Russia for far longer? Celebrities over veterans?"
"This is now the second prisoner exchange where President Biden has left Paul Whelan behind," tweeted Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich. "A Marine and Michigan native, Paul has been wrongly imprisoned for 4 years. Absolutely heartbroken for the Whelan family. They deserve better."
David Whelan responded to GOP critics. Despite his own frustration with his brother's wrongful detention and continued plea to see Paul freed, Whelan called on leadership to "fix the problem rather than complain."
"Doing something to bring them home is a good first step. And if the people who are in power in Congress or in the agencies in the U.S. government don't like that, then they should come up with ways to fix it," he said.
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David Whelan has been vocal about the government developing better policy for handling Americans wrongfully detained in hostage diplomacy. He continues to press for his brother's release.
"I think we're starting to see, again, that evolution of more decisions being made, more confidence in trying new things, more attempts to be creative," Whelan said. "They're not all going to work. But if they bring Americans home, I think that that's a good thing."
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"Paul's case wasn't in front of or behind Britney's case, it was beside. And the U.S. government did the best thing it could do to bring an American home."
Fox News' Greg Norman, Phillip Nieto, Anders Hagstrom, Ryan Gaydos and Nick Kalman contributed to this report.
