Former President Donald Trump suggested that a proposed prisoner swap between Russia and the United States that would return jailed WNBA star Brittney Greener in exchange for a Russian arms dealer “doesn’t seem like a very good deal.”
“She knew she didn’t go in there loaded with drugs, and she admitted it,” Trump said on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. “I guess she just admitted it because it is what it is, and it sure doesn’t seem like a very good deal, does it?” He is absolutely one of the worst in the world and he will be given freedom because a potentially spoiled person goes to Russia loaded with drugs.
Trump was referring to reports that the United States was trying to secure the release of Greener and former US Marine Paul Whelan in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as “Merchant of Death” because of his arms sales that have ignited deadly conflicts around the world.
“She went there loaded with drugs into hostile territory where they are very vigilant about drugs,” Trump added. “They don’t like drugs. And she was caught. And now we have to get her out – and she’s making, you know, a lot of money, I guess. We need to expose her as an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. It killed a lot of Americans. He killed a lot of people.”
Former President Donald Trump said a proposed deal between Britney Greener and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout would not be “appropriate.” Getty Images
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this week that although the Kremlin and US officials have been involved in talks, “there is still no concrete outcome.”
“We proceed from the assumption that during the negotiations the interests of both sides should be taken into account,” she said.
Greener, a WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested in Russia in February after customs officials found “parks” containing hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.
Griner, who faces a potential 10-year prison sentence, pleaded guilty earlier this month in a move her legal team said made her “take full responsibility for her actions.”
Britney Griner is escorted before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia July 27, 2022. REUTERS
Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also suggested earlier this week that the proposed prisoner swap was not a good idea.
“He’s a bad guy. He is a man who wanted to kill Americans. This poses a real risk to the United States. There’s a real reason the Russians want him back home. To offer a deal like this is a dangerous precedent,” Pompeo told America’s Newsroom.
“It’s not good trade, it’s not the right way forward, and it’s likely to lead to more,” Pompeo added.
Russian officials have long pushed for the release of Bout, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence in a US prison after being convicted in 2011 of conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to supply anti-aircraft missiles and aiding a terrorist organization.
Viktor Bout was convicted in 2011 of plotting to kill Americans, but Russian authorities insisted on his release. ZUMAPRESS.com
He was captured in 2008 in a sting operation at a luxury hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where he met with Drug Enforcement Administration informants posing as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, who were classified by U.S. officials as drug addicts. terrorist group.
Prosecutors said Booth was willing to provide the group with “a breathtaking arsenal of weapons worth $20 million – including hundreds of surface-to-air missiles, machine guns and sniper rifles – 10 million rounds of ammunition and five tons of plastic explosives.”
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