This week, the Russians got back the merchant of death, and the United States got back a professional basketball player that broke Russian laws but also checks all the boxes this administration loves to have checked.
We gave up our best leverage for an activist who arguably hates this country, and Peter Doocy put Karine Jean-Pierre on the spot to explain it.
It goes without saying that she did not like this line of questioning at all.
They Got a Great Deal
Griner was arrested for going back into Russia with hashish products, which is against Russian laws.
She knew the laws, was playing professional basketball in Russia, and knowingly broke the law.
Whether we like it or not, she broke the law of the country she chose to live in to play basketball.
For Griner, the Russians got back Viktor Bout, a man who has been tagged as the Merchant of Death.
Typically, you make in-kind trades, but the Russians clearly got the better deal, which is what Doocy said to KJP…
If the option was Griner or nobody for Bout, then, quite honestly, it should have been nobody at this time and work to come to a better conclusion.
This was nothing more than a PR move by this administration because Griner is a black woman and a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
The White House wanted that reunion picture, and they got it.
I can say with fairly high confidence had this been anyone else, this deal would not have been made.
It was the fact that Griner checked all the boxes and had a high profile that led to her being traded for such a high-value prisoner.
This is not about race or hatred for the LGBTQ+ community, as some will perceive it, but it is about getting equal value back or multiple people back.
For instance, for a prisoner of such value, why was Paul Whelan not included in the trade? It the person in prison was anyone reading this, just a nobody, do you think Biden would have traded Bout for us? Of course not.
Bout was convicted of conspiracy to kill United States citizens and officials, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to terrorist organizations. Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling cartridges of hashish oil.
You tell me… is that a fair trade?
Source: Fox News
