SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – WNBA star Brittney Griner has been released from Russian prison, 10 months after her arrest. President Biden said he was trying to include United States Marine Paul Whelan in the prisoner swap too, but wasn't able to secure his release.
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William Burke-White, Deputy Dean and Professor of Law at University of Pennsylvania Law School who served on Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's policy planning staff for two years, told KCBS Radio he believes the Russian government sees Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner in different categories.
"Griner was arrested on smuggling a vape pen with some hashish oil in it, a completely ridiculous charge and certainly not one worthy of the nine years to which she was sentenced," Burke-White said. "The Russian government believes, incorrectly, that Paul Whelan was actually spying for the United States and so they are treating him as a real national security enemy rather than a bogus arrest."
Burke-White explained that Griner's arrest was inflated by the Putin administration "just to secure this kind of trade that they have ultimately gotten with the return of Viktor Bout." Bout is a notorious Russian arms dealer who has served ten years in U.S. custody and was once nicknamed "the Merchant of Death."
Griner became a political pawn after her arrest in February, just prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Burke-White said, calling her charges ridiculous.
"This was a chance for Putin to create leverage against the United States and the west. He has continued to use her, putting her in a penal colony notorious for torture and forced labor, to try to extract a confession," he explained.
Ultimately, the deal of Griner for Bout was the right move as it sends an American citizen home, Burke-White confirmed.
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