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Furious Family Of Paul Whelan Enraged After Brittney Griner Trade

Photo of Carmine Sabia Carmine SabiaDecember 8, 2022
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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.

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The family of Russian prisoner and Marine Paul Whelan has spoken after the news was announced that WNBA star Brittney Griner was coming back to the United States.

“Despite the possibility that there might be an exchange without Paul, our family is still devastated. I can’t even fathom how Paul will feel when he learns. Paul has worked so hard to survive nearly 4 years of this injustice. His hopes had soared with the knowledge that the US government was taking concrete steps for once towards his release,” the family said on Thursday.

“He’d been worrying about where he’d live when he got back to the US. And now what? How do you continue to survive, day after day, when you know that your government has failed twice to free you from a foreign prison? I can’t imagine he retains any hope that a government will negotiate his freedom at this point. It’s clear that the US government has no concessions that the Russian government will take for Paul Whelan. And so Paul will remain a prisoner until that changes,” they said.

There was a ton of criticism on Twitter.

“Wait nah!! We left a marine?!! Hell nah,” Dallas Cowboy Micah Parsons said.

“If Paul Whelan was a basketball player he’d be free right now but he’s a former marine so it doesn’t matter that he’s been stuck in a Russian prison for years longer than Brittney Griner. Sad. The Biden admin should be ashamed leaving him,” Robby Starbuck said.

“Biden gave up a Russian arms dealer in exchange for an anti-American WNBA player, while leaving US Marine Paul Whelan to rot in a Russian prison. This is an abomination. Our country is run by incompetent scumbags,” Matt Walsh said.

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“Celebrate Brittney Griner coming home to her family and now let’s get Marine Paul Whelan home too,” Robert Griffin III said.

“Brittney Griner being released in exchange for a convicted arms dealer. What about Retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan?” Rep. Mayra Flores said.

“U.S. Marine Paul Whelan should have been the Biden Regime’s higher priority, that’s a fact. But under no circumstances should an international arms dealer who targeted US citizens, the MERCHANT OF DEATH Viktor Bout, have been released. This is pure idiocy,” Charlie Kirk said.

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“My heart breaks for Marine veteran Paul Whelan and his family. But as we learned from Afghanistan, when push comes to shove Biden will leave our troops behind,” Todd Starnes said.

“Rejoice that Brittney Griner is free. But please don’t forget about Paul Whelan. He’s been jailed in Russia for 4 yrs,” former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh said.

“Britney Griner kneeled. Paul Whelan served. Guess which one we left to rot in a Russian prison cell?” CJ Pearson said.

“I guess the liberal media and our diplomatic elites can go back to forgetting about Paul Whelan and let him suffer in a Russian prison,” Curtis Houck said.

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“Biden allowed Vicktor Bout, an arms dealer convicted of conspiring to kill Americans, to walk free. This will only EMBOLDEN dictators across the globe. I can’t help but think of Paul Whelan, who’s been ABANDONED by this White House,” Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson said.

Brittney Griner is being released by Russia in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. President Joe Biden announced on Twitter, “Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.”

CBS News reported: “CBS News learned early Thursday from a U.S. official. The one-for-one exchange agreement negotiated with Moscow in recent weeks was given final approval by President Biden within just the last week, according to sources familiar with the deal. The swap, first reported by CBS News, took place on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates.”

“Five former U.S. officials told CBS News the agreement had been reached as of last Thursday. A White House official said President Biden was in the Oval Office Thursday morning on the phone, speaking with Griner, and her wife Cherelle Griner, and Vice President Kamala Harris were also in the room. Per standard procedure for freed U.S. prisoners, Griner was expected to quickly undergo a medical evaluation,” the outlet added.

Bout was a notorious arms dealer who had a 25 year sentence that was cut short for this trade.

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Photo of Carmine Sabia Carmine SabiaDecember 8, 2022