Former President Trump is claiming that he “turned down a deal” with Russia to receive captive American Paul Whelan in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, whom President Biden ultimately swapped last week for WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Whelan has been in Russian custody for over four years at a labor camp in Russia’s Mordovia republic. In 2018, while President Trump was in office, the Marine veteran was arrested and convicted on charges of espionage and spying for the U.S. government, facing up to 16 years in prison.
“I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account Sunday night, referencing Bout’s nickname. “I wouldn’t have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals”
“I would have gotten Paul out, however, just as I did with a record number of other hostages. The deal for Griner is crazy and bad,” Trump also said. “The taking wouldn’t have even happened during my Administration, but if it did, I would have gotten her out, fast!”
PAUL WHELAN’S BROTHER CALLS OUT TRUMP’S ‘REALLY OFFENSIVE’ RESPONSE TO GRINER-BOUT SWAP
Former Soviet military officer and arms trafficker Viktor Bout, center, deplanes after arriving at Westchester County Airport on Nov. 16, 2010 in White Plains, New York. (U.S. Department of Justice via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. State Department for further comment.
Trump previously called the Griner-Bout swap “stupid” and “unpatriotic” in a post on Truth Social.
Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow on June 15, 2020. ( Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)
However, Paul’s brother David Whelan hit back at President Trump for his comments, arguing his attitude is “disappointing” from a former president.
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in the plane as she flies to Abu Dhabi to be exchanged for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, in Russia, on Friday, Dec. 9. (Russian Federal Security Service via AP)
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“I think that what President Biden did was to take care of an American who was in peril and bring home the American that he could bring home. So it’s disappointing that a former president would have that sort of perspective,” Whelan told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto.
Fox News’ Madeline Coggins contributed to this report.
