OPINION:
A version of this story appeared in the On Background newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive On Background delivered directly to your inbox each Friday.
President Biden took a victory lap a year ago after securing the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner after she spent 9½ months in a Russian prison for bringing drugs into the country.
Meanwhile, Thursday marks the fifth year in a Russian prison for American corporate security executive Paul Whelan, a Marine Corps veteran locked up on a bogus espionage charge.
Mr. Biden traded the notorious Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout, who was then imprisoned in the United States, for Ms. Griner’s freedom in a one-for-one prisoner swap. It was hard to believe Mr. Biden left Mr. Whelan out of the deal.
The commander in chief stumbled when Russian officials insisted on a “one or none” deal for Bout. Leftist agitators turned up the pressure on the president to secure Ms. Griner’s release above all else.
The 33-year-old WNBA player scored points with the left prior to her overseas captivity for her refusal to stand for the national anthem before games. In a welcome sign of gratitude for her country, Ms. Griner does stand for the anthem now.
Mr. Biden passed the blame for what happened.
“Sadly … Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s,” he explained at the time. “And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up.”
The Biden administration got rolled in the negotiations because Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted Bout, known as “the Merchant of Death,” and likely would have acceded ultimately to returning Mr. Whelan, along with Ms. Griner, had the administration insisted on the former’s freedom.
If anything, Mr. Whelan’s repatriation should have been prioritized since he had spent far more time locked up.
The Russians had taken the measure of our president and knew they would get what they wanted with a deft blend of stonewalling and bluffing.
Was this not the same administration that negotiated the release of five American citizens held by Iran in exchange for five Iranians held in the United States — throwing in the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds frozen in South Korea for good measure?
Bout, in custody since 2008, was serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. after being convicted in 2011 of numerous charges, including conspiring to kill U.S. citizens. He’s hardly an even trade for someone held on a minor drug charge.
In a Christmas Eve message aired via a call-in to Washington’s WTOP-FM radio, Mr. Whelan, now 53, expressed his frustration.
“Mr. President, you promised to bring me home,” he said from a penal colony eight hours southeast of Moscow. “I’m still here. There has to be more that you can do to secure my release.”
The U.S. government “basically abandoned me here without any options for a future trade,” Mr. Whelan said. “They have no bargaining position now. And knowing that the government has done that is quite depressing. And regardless of all the promises that are being made and all the optimism that I’m hearing, I’m still here.”
Mr. Biden has had nearly three years now to secure Mr. Whelan’s release, and this American’s ongoing captivity weakens the U.S. position on the world stage.
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