Should U.S. Swap ‘Merchant of Death’ for Brittney Griner?

[BreatheUT]

They are working hard on a DEAL. The only question being asked inside the Biden regime, is whether the deal should be made before or after the mid-term elections.

They need a boost now. Any gimmick is worth a try.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Kremlin Warns US that 'Hype' over Brittney Griner will Not Help Her Case and says Prisoner Swaps with America are 'difficult' as Al Sharpton reveals plans to visit her in 'atrocious' Russian detention

Russia has said it is difficult to exchange prisoners with the United States and suggested Washington be silent about the fate of Brittney Griner, the women's basketball star detained in Russia on drug smuggling charges.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Ryabkov said 'hype' around the case does not help, urging the US to cease correspondence with the basketball player who recently stood trial in Russia.

The Russian comments come as reverend and black activist Al Sharpton announced plans to travel to Russia to visit Griner in custody ahead of her latest trial on Thursday.

Ryabkov hit out at the US after President Joe Biden received a handwritten letter from 31-year-old Brittney on Monday's Fourth of July holiday.

The President wrote back, but Vladimir Putin's administration warned it will only make a prisoner swap less likely.

Russia warns US that 'hype' over Brittney Griner will not help her case | Daily Mail Online

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Lawyer Claims Kremlin Would swap Griner AND Whelan for Russian Arms Dealer

The lawyer for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is currently in a U.S. prison, believes the Kremlin would agree to give up two Americans being wrongfully detained in Russia in exchange for his client.

Steve Zissou, Bout's attorney, told the Washington Examiner in a Thursday interview that his "sources" say Russia would view a swap of Bout for Griner, who is facing a 10-year prison sentence, and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who is still in the first couple years of a 16-year prison sentence despite the West's insistence of his innocence, as an "acceptable agreement."

Lawyer claims Kremlin would swap Griner and Whelan for Russian arms dealer

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

Kremlin Warns US that 'Hype' over Brittney Griner will Not Help Her Case and says Prisoner Swaps with America are 'difficult' as Al Sharpton reveals plans to visit her in 'atrocious' Russian detention

Russia has said it is difficult to exchange prisoners with the United States and suggested Washington be silent about the fate of Brittney Griner, the women's basketball star detained in Russia on drug smuggling charges.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Ryabkov said 'hype' around the case does not help, urging the US to cease correspondence with the basketball player who recently stood trial in Russia.

The Russian comments come as reverend and black activist Al Sharpton announced plans to travel to Russia to visit Griner in custody ahead of her latest trial on Thursday.

Ryabkov hit out at the US after President Joe Biden received a handwritten letter from 31-year-old Brittney on Monday's Fourth of July holiday.

The President wrote back, but Vladimir Putin's administration warned it will only make a prisoner swap less likely.

Russia warns US that 'hype' over Brittney Griner will not help her case | Daily Mail Online

Hopefully Russia locks up Sharpton also.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Lawyer Claims Kremlin Would swap Griner AND Whelan for Russian Arms Dealer

The lawyer for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is currently in a U.S. prison, believes the Kremlin would agree to give up two Americans being wrongfully detained in Russia in exchange for his client.

Steve Zissou, Bout's attorney, told the Washington Examiner in a Thursday interview that his "sources" say Russia would view a swap of Bout for Griner, who is facing a 10-year prison sentence, and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who is still in the first couple years of a 16-year prison sentence despite the West's insistence of his innocence, as an "acceptable agreement."

Lawyer claims Kremlin would swap Griner and Whelan for Russian arms dealer

Throw in Joy Behar and Whoopi and it’s a deal.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

Sentiment like this helps me understand why you have such a man-crush on the translator.

WTF are you talking about?

 

[MG1968]

WTF are you talking about?

You seem to have issues with the LGBTQ community. Putin definitely has issues with the LGBTQ community.

 

[WBO]

The irony is they are probably making it worse for her.

I hope so.

 

[TheDeeble]

Lol, so much "privilege" on display here. If it was me or any other non professional athlete in her place nobody would gaf and there would be no media coverage at all.

As Mercury center Brittney Griner’s trial in Russia is now underway, many in the U.S. have grown frustrated that the star player’s detainment has continued for so long. On Tuesday, Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard posited the question: What if someone like LeBron James was in Griner’s place?

"If it was LeBron, he'd be home, right?" Nygaard said, according to Casey L. Moor of USA TODAY. “It’s a statement about the value of women. It’s a statement about the value of a black person. It’s a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those things. We know it, and so that’s what hurts a little more.”

Brittney Griner’s WNBA Coach: ‘If It Was LeBron, He’d Be Home, Right?’ - Sports Illustrated

 

[MG1968]

Lol, so much "privilege" on display here. If it was me or any other non professional athlete in her place nobody would gaf and there would be no media coverage at all.



Brittney Griner’s WNBA Coach: ‘If It Was LeBron, He’d Be Home, Right?’ - Sports Illustrated

Lebron is a lot of things, stupid isn’t one of them.

 

[DonjoVol]

When I was on Mediterranean cruise the Navy warned us before each port of laws or socially unacceptable behavior. Before Antalya , Turkey they showed us the movie Midnight Express. Basically letting us know you screw up here and you're done.

I find it hard to believe she did not know the consequences.

I would not free Victor Bout.

When you are a guest in another country it shouldn't be hard to obey and respect their laws and customs. Not sure why that's so difficult.

 

[utvolpj]

Lebron is a lot of things, stupid isn’t one of them.

He's read the first 3 pages of a bunch of important books

 

[MG1968]

He's read the first 3 pages of a bunch of important books

I’m just saying that he wouldn’t have “packed in a rush” not realizing his vape pen had hash oil in it instead of snickerdoodle flavored vape juice.

 

[Pepe_Silvia]

Lol, so much "privilege" on display here. If it was me or any other non professional athlete in her place nobody would gaf and there would be no media coverage at all.



Brittney Griner’s WNBA Coach: ‘If It Was LeBron, He’d Be Home, Right?’ - Sports Illustrated

Guess I missed the moment when LeBron ceased being black.

 

[C-south]

Paul Whelan’s sister calls out WH after Biden, Harris reach out to Griner wife

The sister of Paul Whelan, an American who has been held in Russia since 2018, questioned why his family hasn’t received a call from the White House after President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris reached out to the wife of Brittney Griner to “reassure” her of their efforts to free the WNBA star.

“To begin with, we don’t begrudge the Griner family and their supporters any of the attention that they’re getting from the president,” Elizabeth Whelan told CNN Wednesday. “I mean, it’s really wonderful. They have resources far beyond what our family does.

“I think our concern is, you know, why the outreach to some families and not others?” Whelan added. “There are 55-plus families who would like to have that same degree of attention. My brother’s written to both presidents [Trump and Biden] and people throughout Congress, hundreds and hundreds of letters during the three-and-a-half years that he’s been held.”

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, is serving a 16-year prison sentence after being arrested in Moscow on espionage charges in 2018.

Whelan went on to say that she had sent the administration four letters, emailed White House chief of staff Ron Klain and asked national security adviser Jake Sullivan to set up a meeting, but it “hasn’t happened yet.”

Paul Whelan's sister calls out Biden and Harris after Griner gets phone call

So Griner is the husband? I can see that.

 

[DonjoVol]

He's read the first 3 pages of a bunch of important books

Lebron mentioned Larry Bird as one of 3 players having an impact on him as a basketball player. I'd say he's pretty smart for realizing the greatness of Larry Bird.

 

[BreatheUT]

Lebron is a lot of things, stupid when dealing with "foreign" governments isn’t one of them.

Fyp

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

You seem to have issues with the LGBTQ community. Putin definitely has issues with the LGBTQ community.

So?

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

So Griner is the husband? I can see that.

Glory Johnson also apparently has her paying child support. That may explain why she was having to go overseas to make extra cash.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

Lebron mentioned Larry Bird as one of 3 players having an impact on him as a basketball player. I'd say he's pretty smart for realizing the greatness of Larry Bird.

LeBron doesn't incorporate anything in his game or personality that Bird had. He's closer to Gilbert Arenas than Bird...

 

[VolStrom]

Glory Johnson also apparently has her paying child support. That may explain why she was having to go overseas to make extra cash.

So you're saying that Griner IS a man? I thought so all along.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

No Special Treatment for Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan / Wikimedia Commons and American embassy in Moscow

WNBA player Brittney Griner on Thursday pleaded guilty in a Russian courtroom to possessing less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage when she landed at a Moscow airport in February.

It's a sad story, but Griner is hardly the political prisoner that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have made her out to be. And under no circumstances should the Democratic Party's identity politics allow a black lesbian millionaire athlete who broke the law in a foreign country to receive preferential treatment—as she already is receiving—over genuinely innocent hostages long left to rot in foreign prisons. Even if one were to leave aside the fact, which we simply cannot, that Griner clamored for the removal of the national anthem from WNBA games.

So far, the administration is sending all the wrong signals, elevating Griner's case above that of actual political prisoners like Paul Whelan: A senior U.S. diplomat on Thursday hand-delivered a personal note from Biden to Griner, a move that followed a phone call from Biden and Harris to Griner's partner, Cherelle, in which Biden assured her that he is "working to secure Brittney's release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world."

No Special Treatment for Brittney Griner - Washington Free Beacon

 

[ButchPlz]

No Special Treatment for Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan / Wikimedia Commons and American embassy in Moscow

WNBA player Brittney Griner on Thursday pleaded guilty in a Russian courtroom to possessing less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage when she landed at a Moscow airport in February.

It's a sad story, but Griner is hardly the political prisoner that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have made her out to be. And under no circumstances should the Democratic Party's identity politics allow a black lesbian millionaire athlete who broke the law in a foreign country to receive preferential treatment—as she already is receiving—over genuinely innocent hostages long left to rot in foreign prisons. Even if one were to leave aside the fact, which we simply cannot, that Griner clamored for the removal of the national anthem from WNBA games.

So far, the administration is sending all the wrong signals, elevating Griner's case above that of actual political prisoners like Paul Whelan: A senior U.S. diplomat on Thursday hand-delivered a personal note from Biden to Griner, a move that followed a phone call from Biden and Harris to Griner's partner, Cherelle, in which Biden assured her that he is "working to secure Brittney's release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world."

No Special Treatment for Brittney Griner - Washington Free Beacon

It's all about the points.

 

[DonjoVol]

LeBron doesn't incorporate anything in his game or personality that Bird had. He's closer to Gilbert Arenas than Bird...

Actually I would say he does as Bird could do it all as well. Score, rebounds, assists, and shooting 3s. Both of them had similar abilities when driving the ball to the basket. When he was asked who the 3 greatest players of all time were he said Bird, Jordan and Dr. J. He mentioned Bird first.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Biden FINALLY Phones Sister Of Paul Whelan After Family Member of ex-Marine detained in Russia Complained that he called wife of Brittney Griner but not her sibling

President Joe Biden called Elizabeth Whelan on Friday, the White House announced, the sister of a US Marine who has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018 on alleged espionage charges

Whelan's sister previously she was 'astonished' and 'crushed' by the fact that Biden has not called her family after he rang the wife of WNBA star Britney Griner, who just pleaded guilty to drug charges in Moscow.

Biden reaffirmed that the US remains committed to bringing home Whelan and Griner, as well as other Americans being held abroad.

The update comes after Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to tell reporters whether Biden was planning on calling the imprisoned Marine's relatives.

Britney Griner, 31, being lead to the courtroom just before pleading guilty on drug charges

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, Russia, June 15, 2020

Biden calls sister of Paul Whelan, Marine imprisoned in Russia | Daily Mail Online