Brittney Griner: WNBA star arrives at US hospital after being released by Russia in prisoner swap

The WNBA star was detained at a Russian airport in February

Brittney Griner back on US soil after spending 294 days in Russian prison

Brittney Griner has returned to US soil for the first time in 10 months after she was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap with “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout.

The WNBA star arrived at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio early on 9 December for examination and any additional medical treatment.

Footage showed Ms Griner and Bout being exchanged on the tarmac of a runway in the United Arab Emirates on 8 December following weeks of negotiations between Washington DC and Moscow.

The deal failed to include US Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia for the last four years. Mr Whelan told CNN he was “greatly disappointed” to learn he was not part of the prisoner swap, saying: “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

President Joe Biden insisted that “we’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan” and vowed to “never give up” securing his release, as the swap divided opinion across the country. The White House was also forced to deny claims made by Saudi Arabia and the UAE that Mohammed bin Salman negotiated the deal.

Key points

• Brittney Griner lands on US soil
• White House denies claims MBS negotiated swap
• Trump turned down offer to release Whelan years ago, says Bolton
• Paul Whelan says he’s ‘disappointed’ the Biden administration didn’t do more to secure his release
• President ‘guarantees’ to keep negotiating for detained marine’s release

[9 December 2022 07:00 · Josh Marcus]

Donald Trump Jr slams Biden over Brittney Griner prisoner swap

Donald Trump Jr has launched a belligerent Twitter tirade against Joe Biden and WNBA star Brittney Griner after her release from a Russian prison.

Don Jr whined about the deal to swap Ms Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in a series of posts on Twitter on Thursday morning, repeating some of his father Donald Trump’s favourite talking points about Mr Biden’s negotiating skills.

“No one cuts better deals than Biden,” he wrote sarcastically. “We get an awful America hating WNBA player, while Russia gets an INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALER!”

Bevan Hurley has the story.

[9 December 2022 06:00 · Josh Marcus]

Why are conservatives so mad that Brittney Griner is free?

Russia has agreed to release former WNBA player Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap with the US. While Griner’s fans and loved ones are celebrating, there are some people who are upset by the developments, and they all just so happen to ideologically oppose Joe Biden.

Republicans — both lawmakers and media figures — took to social media to explain why Griner’s release was either unfair or a grave mistake.

Senator John Cornyn initially praised the Biden administration for freeing Griner, though noted that he was “disappointed” that the president could not secure the release of other US prisoners abroad like ex-Marine Paul Whelan and Austin Tice.

Mr Whelan, 52, was detained in Russia in 2018 and was convicted on espionage charges in 2020. He has been in a penal colony since his conviction. Conservatives used his continued incarceration to fuel their criticisms of the Biden administration.

Graig Graziosi with the full report.

[9 December 2022 05:00 · Josh Marcus]

Biden administration vows to keep fighting for Paul Whelan’s release after Griner deal

President Joe Biden said WNBA star Brittney Griner “will soon be back in the arms of loved ones” after nearly a year in the “intolerable circumstances” of Russian custody.

On Thursday, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, Ms Griner’s wife Cherelle, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, Mr Biden said Ms Griner’s release marked “a good morning” and “a day we’ve worked towards for a long time”.

“We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstaking and intensive negotiations and I want to thank all the hard working public servants across my administration, who worked tirelessly to secure her release,” he said.

Andrew Feinberg is following the story from Washington.

[9 December 2022 04:53 · Shweta Sharma]

Biden shares the moment he informed WNBA star’s wife ‘she’s on the ground’

Joe Biden has shared the video of the moments when he personally informed Brittney Griner’s wife that she has touched down on US soil.

“She is on the ground,” Mr Biden told Cherelle Griner, who reacted in disbelief.

Cherelle Griner said “stop it” before the US president reassured her and the two hugged.

The news was broken to her in the presence of vice president Kamala Harris and US secretary of state Antony Blinken.

[9 December 2022 04:00 · Josh Marcus]

Donald Trump’s hypocrisy on Brittney Griner

Two years after his term in the White House ended without him mentioning his name, Donald Trump is now claiming the Biden administration’s prisoner swap to return wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner home is a “stupid” and “totally one-side transaction” because it did not include US Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan.

Mr Trump, under whose watch Mr Whelan was detained on bogus espionage charges just three days after Christmas in 2018, hit out at the Biden administration’s latest return of an American hostage from abroad on his Truth Social platform, writing: “Why wasn’t former Marine Paul Whelan included in this totally one-sided transaction? He would have been let out for the asking”.

The disgraced ex-president, whose family business was convicted of criminal tax fraud earlier this week, also complained because the deal freed Ms Griner, a basketball player who he baselessly accused of hating the US, for Russian-born arms dealer Viktor Bout.

“What a ‘stupid’ and unpatriotic embarrassment for the USA!!!” he wrote.

Andrew Feinberg has more.

[9 December 2022 03:00 · Josh Marcus]

Video shows prisoner swap that freed Brittney Griner

WBNA star Brittney Griner has been released by Russia in a prisoner swap nearly nine months after her arrest on drug charges at a Moscow airport.

US officials said Ms Griner was freed in exchange for the US releasing Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout following months of talks between Washington and Moscow over the basketball star’s fate.

The swap, captured by Russian state TV, shows the former prisoners cross paths on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi.

According to the White House, president Joe Biden has already spoken to Ms Griner following her release.

Independent TV has the full story.

[9 December 2022 02:00 · Josh Marcus]

‘I made it’: Russian TV shows Viktor Bout arriving in Moscow

Viktor Bout has arrived in Moscow, according to Russian state media.

Upon returning to Moscow, Bout, 55, hugged his mother and wife.

“I made it. That’s the main thing,” he told local reporters, according to Reuters.

“In the middle of the night they simply woke me up and said, ‘Get your things together’ and that was it.”

[9 December 2022 01:40 · Josh Marcus]

Guards prison mock Briner Griner is footage of WNBA star’s release from Russian prison

Russian state media has released footage of Brittney Griner being released from prison.

The video includes Russian prison guards appearing to mock the WNBA star, asking her, “Will you come back here? Yes? Good job! Come back!”

[9 December 2022 01:20 · Josh Marcus]

‘We’re so happy you’re coming home’: Warrior coach Steve Kerr welcomes Brittney Griner back to US

Steve Kerr, coach of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, had a warm message for Brittney Griner after it was announced the WNBA star was on her way back to the US.

“Brittney, I just want to tell you on behalf of the entire Warriors organization, we are so thrilled for you and your family,” Mr Kerr said in a video message. “We can’t imagine what you’ve been through. Unbelievable perseverance that you’ve shown just to make it through your time in Russia. We’re so happy you’re coming home.”

Watch his full remarks here, via the Warriors Twitter page.

[9 December 2022 01:00 · Josh Marcus]

How the UAE and Saudi Arabia helped free Brittney Griner

In addition to the White House, the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia helped broker the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian prison.

The deal, a statement from the UAE and Saudi crown prince said, “highlighted the important role played by the leaderships of the two brotherly countries in promoting dialogue between all parties”.

Both nations are US allies, as well as members of the OPEC+ oil group, which includes Russia.

After being moved from a Russian penal colony to Moscow, Ms Griner took a private plane to Abu Dhabi.