DOJ officials call Biden's Griner, 'Merchant of Death' swap 'mistake,' 'madness' | Fox News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A Friday report in the Washington Post noted U.S. Department of Justice officials viewed President Joe Biden's prisoner swap of WNBA player Brittney Griner for dangerous Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout as a "mistake."
According to the outlet, people from America's top law enforcement agencies have expressed concern that the "discrepancy of offenses by the two prisoners" meant that the deal was not a good one.
The Post detailed this gap in offenses, stating that Griner was detained for "possessing a small amount of cannabis oil. Bout, whose arms fueled conflicts from Sudan to Rwanda to Afghanistan to Angola, is nicknamed the 'Merchant of Death,' and his illicit transactions with violent regimes and militant groups earned him a 25-year sentence in federal prison."
Many in the media blasted the trade Friday, arguing that Biden should have received more hostages from Russia in return for such a dangerous prisoner. Some argued that Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who is still serving a sentence in Russia on espionage charges, should have been included in the deal.
As the Washington Post claimed Friday, top government officials feel the same way. The piece stated, "But the president also faced opposition from his own Justice Department, which viewed Thursday's one-for-one prisoner swap involving Griner and the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout as a mistake given the discrepancy of offenses by the two prisoners."
It added, "Within the Justice Department, many officials resisted the idea of trading Bout before his scheduled release in 2029, according to current and former officials."
The piece quoted an anonymous DOJ official, who said of Griner's release, "If she were my relative, I would want to do the swap. But trading a notorious international arms dealer for a basketball player is madness."
The Post noted that the State Department had been seeking a trade with Russia "involving Bout that would include the release of both Whelan and Griner." Though "officials familiar with the matter" said "Moscow refused unless the United States also secured the release of Vadim Krasnikov, a former colonel from Russia's internal spy agency."
Ultimately the U.S. caved to pressure and decided to accept "Griner for Bout, one-for-one." During a recent news conference, Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented on the decision, saying, "This was not a choice of which American to bring home. The choice was one or none."
The piece stated that Justice Department officials "have long chafed at some of the prisoner exchanges pushed by the State Department, in part because law enforcement officials tend to believe that authorities should adhere to a 'like for like' rule, in which only individuals of equal status or criminal history should be exchanged."
It added, "federal law enforcement officials frequently object to proposed swaps of convicted criminals for people who committed relatively minor offenses."
The Post mentioned that "law enforcement nevertheless worries that there will be negative consequences to the Griner-Bout trade that won't immediately be apparent." It quoted former DEA agent Robert Zachariasiewicz, who was "opposed to the swap."
He told the paper, "We just showed that it is really useful to have an American in your back pocket because you never know when you need them to trade."
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)
On Thursday, CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez also reported that U.S. law enforcement officials were displeased with this trade, saying they believed it to be "epically bad."
The New York Times also featured a Friday report on the "criticism" sparked by the deal. Though it mentioned that "right wing" Americans are in "full outrage mode" over the swap, it acknowledged that there are "legitimate questions" that "can be raised about these swaps, including whether they encourage still more hostage-taking or could endanger Americans, like Mr. Whelan, who are left behind."
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
Tags
Who is online
422 visitors
Epically bad.
Heh
heh.
Democrats like to claim Brandon is winning the battle against Putin. They are so wrong.
Brandon held all of the cards. Putin needs Bout far more than Biden needs any of the 3 (yes there were 3 before Griner's release- though the Biden administration and most of the media ignore. Marc Fogel a white, male, teacher sentence for the same offense as Griner- though he had more weed on him- and received a harsher sentence of 14 years. But since he doesn't check the magical Democrat boxes of gender, race, and sexual orientation he is left out.)
Democrats and their media sycophants like to claim that Griner was the only deal on the table; and it was that or nothing. Griner broke Russian law; and was charged within the guidelines of that law. Yet somehow she took precedence over Whelan (an ex marine entrapped and charged with spying). They are all under the mistaken impression that any deal was better than no deal.
Brandon held all of the cards. Russia isn't winning the war in Ukraine. Once one of the leading arms exporters, they now have to import arms to supply the war. Sanctions are crippling the Russian economy; and people are fleeing the country to escape Putin's draft. Putin desperately needs Bout for his contacts; and knowledge of how to work around sanctions and embargos. The longer Putin was forced to wait the more desperate his need.
Brandon should have held out for all 3 to be returned for Bout.; at the very least. He also never should have made a deal that brought Griner home before Whelan. Now both Whelan and Fogel are stuck in Russian penal colonies serving out the remainder of their sentences. Brandon doesn't have anything else to offer. He can't reduce sanctions on Russia. He can't allow them to start selling oil freely. And he can't stop sending arms to Ukraine- the pro fascist country that is a never ending money pit for US taxpayer money. The media and Republicans would crucify him.
But woke morons in the US are rejoicing; Brandon the human fuck up machine has brought their hero home!
Absolutely!
When even Biden Administration officials are saying it is a bad deal, you know it was!
And look--they didn't even have to lie or mislead about it like those 50 or so former 'intelligence' folks had to about the Hunter Biden laptop story!
What Biden administration officials?
The president faced opposition from the Justice Department, which viewed a one-for-one swap involving WNBA star Brittney Griner and the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout as a mistake
Let me be more precise. What Biden administration officials said it was a bad deal? Your link was basically a "some guys said" statement, no quotes, no names. The author couldn't even be bothered to quote one of these unnamed sources.
LOL, always griping about a source. Look it up yourself!
Some in the Justice Dept.
It's been in the news, and an article here is all about it.
Exactly, the WashP is a well known purveyor of fake news.
It's weird that they never wanted the names of the unnamed official in the trump administration when something negative was published.
Not really weird, more like the usual fare from our 'informed' liberal friends.
So it was a janitor.
In Liberal La La Land, are janitors considered officials?
Sure, prove it wasn't.
That one IS pretty funny!
Who helped you with it?
Just checking to see if you had an actual point to contribute, or were just trolling again.
Trolling it is....
Gee that seemed to be a good enough source for you when Trump or even Bush Jr. was in office. Why the change?
Get another adult to explain it all to you.
I'm fresh out of crayons.
you need to provide the source
This may come as quite a shock to you, seeing how you don't read links, but the article is the source. Maybe you can click on it and figure out what the source is that you so desperately seek.
Why would I read garbage?
Well, for dang sure not to be informed or at all knowledgeable about that which you speak.
There’s nothing wrong with this swap. Is Bout a worse person that Griner? Of course. But it’s not like he hadn’t paid any price at all for his behavior. The guy has been in prison for a decade. He had a few more years on his sentence, but he’s certainly not the first person to get an early release.
Would we like other Americans released? Of course. But you don’t get every last thing you dream of in every deal you make. That goes for prisoner swaps, it goes for legislation, and it goes for business. Not every asset (or prisoner) is always on the table. Biden couldn’t get Whelan, but neither could Trump. Apparently, that’s going to be a much tougher deal to make.
Just be glad an American is coming home and stop judging whether or not she deserves it more than someone else. What does that accomplish?
You are correct, not a damned thing wrong with this
Not according to some in the Biden Justice Department.
Reading the article would have informed you of this.