(WWJ) The brother of Paul Whelan, a Metro Detroit resident and former U.S. Marine who remains detained in Russia, is calling out former President Donald Trump for hypocrisy.
On Thursday, U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was released from Russian detention in a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, leaving Whelan in a Russian prison.
Trump, posting to the platform Truth Social, spoke out against the trade, posting: "Why wasn’t former Marine Paul Whelan included in this totally one-sided transaction? He would have been let out for the asking."
David Whelan took offense to this, noting that his brother was imprisoned back in in 2018 — during Trump's presidency — and Trump didn't do anything about it.
David Whelan tweeted: "Former President Trump appears to have mentioned my brother #PaulWhelan's wrongful detention more in the last 24 hours than he did in the 2 years of his presidency in which Paul was held hostage by #Russia (zero). I don't suggest he cares now any more than he did then (zero)."
According to a report by The New York Post, former National Security Adviser John Bolton revealed in a CBS interview that Trump in fact turned down a chance to secure Paul Whelan’s release two years ago – despite the former president claiming to be outraged over the Biden administration’s deal.
The Biden administration has been adamant on its stance that both Paul Whelan and Griner, who was accused of carrying hashish oil in her luggage, were wrongfully detained.
Paul Whelan, a resident of Novi, Michigan, was arrested while in Russia in 2018 on allegations of being a spy for the U.S. Whelan has adamantly denied all allegations and Russian officials have never publicly presented any evidence against him.
Paul Whelan has served three and a half years of his 16 year sentence in a Russian labor camp.
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