Britney Griner deal

[Anonymous]

Griner was arrested before the invasion of Ukraine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like some Russian is still good at screwing with American politics. We traded an arms dealer for someone who chose to be in Russia while the state department was warning everyone to not be in Russia and left behind someone that a large portion of Americans think was working for the US government.

We traded for an American citizen being held in an oppressive regime. Period. None of the other factors as to what you think of her worth and a human or her trade value matter.

If you don't think that republicans will make hay over choosing Griner over Whelan or over trading an arms dealer for Griner, you haven't been paying attention.

I think they will and they are. And I think they are amoral dicks for doing so.

I think the Biden administration is pandering for choosing Griner over Whelan. Somehow freeing Griner is a national priority, but Wehlan gets left to rot.

I mean, that is your spin and speculation. "Pandering", what does that even mean? He has been in negotiations on both of them. Griner isn't a "priority" she is a low value prisoner, relatively speaking. You think they are giving up someone "valuable" in a political sense for some "arms dealer" who is already set to be released in a few years? LOL. Ok, dummy.

[Anonymous]

Daily Mail is saying that MBS brokered the exchange.

[Anonymous]

Why no mention of Marc Fogel? Same deal. In before Griner. Why was she let go ahead of him? He's like 60.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why no mention of Marc Fogel? Same deal. In before Griner. Why was she let go ahead of him? He's like 60.

20 grams of weed (Fogel) vs CBD oil (Griner)

Person for person trades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why no mention of Marc Fogel? Same deal. In before Griner. Why was she let go ahead of him? He's like 60.

Because she was labeled "wrongfully detained" by the US where Fogel is not considered wrongfully detained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why no mention of Marc Fogel? Same deal. In before Griner. Why was she let go ahead of him? He's like 60.

Because she was labeled "wrongfully detained" by the US where Fogel is not considered wrongfully detained.

Griner initially stated that it wasn’t her cartridges in the envelope in her bag and that it was planted. She quickly changed her story to apologizing & asking for clemency once she had access to State Dept and lawyers. I’m not convinced she brought the CBD cartridges into the country.

Whereas Fogel freely admits to (stupidly) bringing a half ounce of pot to Russia for his chronic pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why no mention of Marc Fogel? Same deal. In before Griner. Why was she let go ahead of him? He's like 60.

Come on. You didn't give a flying F about Fogel until today. Just stop with the faux outrage.

[Anonymous]

I am glad she is coming home. Fortunately this happened with Biden and not Trump in office. I think many of you need to to separate your feelings about a 6’9” black lesbian who is not especially endearing or traditionally feminine and the actual transgressions. If she was a snub- nosed little blonde with a perma-grin, there would be different reactions. Not everyone is a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader and a mindless flag-waver. America is supposed to support freedom of expression.

[Anonymous]

This is almost as good of a deal as trading for traitor Bowe Bergdal in exchange for 5 high ranking Taliban leaders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is almost as good of a deal as trading for traitor Bowe Bergdal in exchange for 5 high ranking Taliban leaders.

Paul Whelan and Bowe Bergdahl are comparable, yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why no mention of Marc Fogel? Same deal. In before Griner. Why was she let go ahead of him? He's like 60.

Because she was labeled "wrongfully detained" by the US where Fogel is not considered wrongfully detained.

Putin decides which American gets released, no? I heard that Biden is working on brokering a deal for Wheelan, but Russia considers it a different case. Russia has a lot of say as to who gets released.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why no mention of Marc Fogel? Same deal. In before Griner. Why was she let go ahead of him? He's like 60.

Because she was labeled "wrongfully detained" by the US where Fogel is not considered wrongfully detained.

Putin decides which American gets released, no? I heard that Biden is working on brokering a deal for Wheelan, but Russia considers it a different case. Russia has a lot of say as to who gets released.

Correct. Putin does get a say. The US also get to bring who they want to the table for discussions and they picked Griner over Fogel.

Whelan is also on the table, but Putin won't give up a convicted spy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Daily Mail is saying that MBS brokered the exchange.

No sh!t:

The negotiations were reportedly mediated by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, according to Arab News. A senior administration official would not comment directly on MBS's role but said the U.S. will 'continue to lean on partners around the world' to secure the release of unjustly detailed Americans. The swap happened at Abu Dhabi airport, where Griner and Bout had to walked past each other to reach their respective parties on the airport tarmac, Russian state media reports.

Wow.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if there's already a plan to nab Bout on another charge the second he pops up again.

Also, I still like the idea of arresting random Russians, especially oligarchs on trumped-up charges and letting Putin complain about it and forcing them to release others like Whelan in exchange.