Headline Roundup • September 16th, 2022
POTUS Meets with Families of Russian Prisoners Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Friday, President Biden met with family members of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, two Americans currently imprisoned in Russia.
Griner, an All-Star WNBA player for the Phoenix Mercury, was arrested in Russia last February, for possession of cannabis oil and sentenced in August to nine years in prison. The arrest raised red flags for many officials and citizens in the United States on account of it coinciding with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, leading U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to deem the action a political move. Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine and Michigan businessman, was arrested in Russia in 2018 for allegedly being in possession of a USB drive containing classified information. In 2020, a Russian court found him guilty of spying and sentenced him to 16 years in a Russian labor camp.
In prisoner-swap negotiations with the Kremlin, the U.S. has offered to hand over Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer convicted of terrorism by a federal court in 2011. Commenting on the meeting, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that “while I would love to say that the purpose of this meeting is to inform the families that the Russians have accepted our offer, and we are bringing their loved ones home — that is not what we're seeing in these negotiations at this time.”
Coverage of the meeting was mild and consistent across the spectrum.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP
President Biden began meeting with family members of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan to discuss his continuing commitment to bringing them back home safely, the White House said Friday.
Griner's wife Cherelle, her agent Lindsay Colas, Whelan's sister Elizabeth and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan were participating in the meetings, which began at 4:51 p.m. ET.
"The primary goal of the meetings today is to be able to update the families and keep them completely apprized of where we are in the process and to...
President Joe Biden met on Friday with Cherelle Griner, wife of Brittney Griner, and reassured her that he is working to gain the WNBA star's freedom.
Biden sat down in the Oval Office with Cherelle Griner as well as Elizabeth Whelan, sister of detained former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. Biden conducted the separate meetings to assure the families that the detainees "are at front of mind," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
"We're going to continue to do everything that we can, working tirelessly every day, to make sure...
REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
President Joe Biden met on Friday with families of two Americans being held by Russia, and personally reassured them he is working to gain freedom for the detainees.
Biden sat down in the Oval Office with Cherelle Griner, wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner, and Elizabeth Whelan, sister of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
Biden conducted the separate meetings to assure the families that the detainees "are at front of mind," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
"We're going to continue to do everything that we can, working tirelessly...
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