Trump has expressed strong views on the potential US-Russia prisoner swap that could free WNBA athlete Brittney Griner. On the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton podcast, the former President of the United States mentioned that not see with good eyes the exchange between Washington and Moscow, which could free the athlete detained in Russia for alleged possession of cannabis oil, and Paul Whelan, from the US Navy.
In exchange, the United States will be able to free Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer, although this information has not been confirmed by the administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Words Trump’s toughest They are directed against the American athlete, holder of two Olympic gold medals and seven-time All-Star of the WNBA, the women’s basketball league in the United States.
Trump says Griner, who is being held in Russia after cannabis oil was found in her luggage, “he is a potentially spoiled person”, who went to Russia “full of drugs”. Griner was charged with illegal drug possession for transporting a quantity described as “significant” in the eyes of Russian authorities.
“She knew you don’t go there [Rússia] full of drugs and he admitted it,” Trump said in this podcast, quoted by Rolling Stone. “I guess she admitted this without much force.because it is what it is, and certainly Doesn’t sound like a good trade-off, does it? The [Viktor Bout] This absolutely one of the worst people in the world and he will be released because of a potentially spoiled person who went to Russia on drugs.”
“She went there full of drugs, into hostile territory where they are very vigilant for drugs. They don’t like drugs. And they caught me,” Trump continued.
Brittney Griner has been imprisoned in Russia for more than 130 days. Is she a “political pawn”, an “unlawful arrest” or neither?
“Now he’s supposed to get her out of there, and I think she makes a lot of money,” the businessman said during the conversation. “We’re supposed to get her out of there in exchange for an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. She killed many Americans. He killed a lot of people.”
Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty, saying she accidentally entered Russia with cannabis. The trial is ongoing and the American athlete faces a sentence of up to ten years in prison.
CNN notes that while the US government does not view prisoner swaps with different nations favourably, this swap should have the support of President Joe Biden.
Last Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was open to contacting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss a possible prisoner swap.
The US offers famous arms dealer Russia in exchange for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan
Source: Observadora
