Donald Trump last week criticized the U.S. government for the prisoner swap that led to the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison. He also questioned why former marine Paul Whelan wasnt included in what he called a totally one-sided transaction.
For the unversed, Whelan, a Canadian-born former U.S. marine, was arrested in Russia in December 2018 on charges of spying and was handed a 16-year prison sentence in June 2020.
The former marines brother David Whelan on Friday took to Twitter to slam the former president for his comments. The twin brothers saidthat Trump has mentioned Pauls detention "more in the last 24 hours than he did in the two years of his presidency."
I dont suggest he cares now any more than he did then (zero), headded.
Former President Trump appears to have mentioned my brother #PaulWhelan’s wrongful detention more in the last 24 hours than he did in the 2 years of his presidency in which Paul was held hostage by #Russia (zero). I don’t suggest he cares now any more than he did then (zero) https://t.co/7lnSF0zJxL David Whelan (@davidpwhelan) December 9, 2022
Griner was released on Thursday after the U.S. freed Viktor Bout, who was convicted of killing U.S. citizens and supporting a designated terrorist organization, among other charges. The Russian arms dealer, aka "Merchant of Death,"hadserved 10 years of a 25-year sentence at the time of his release.
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Photo: Created with images fromGage Skidmoreon flickr.