‘What About U.S. Marine Paul Whelan?’: Biden Administration Slammed for Russia Prisoner Deal for Brittney Griner

WASHINGTON, D.C. (FLV) – The U.S. Government completed a prisoner exchange with Russia on Thursday to bring WNBA player Brittney Griner back to the U.S. after she was arrested in February at a Moscow airport for having vape cartridges containing cannabis oils.

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan remains in Russian custody after nearly four years.

The Biden Administration originally planned to bring both prisoners home in exchange for the notorious “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, but Russian officials reportedly offered only the exchange for Griner or no deal at all.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott from Florida called President Joe Biden’s decision “weak and disgusting.”

“For Biden to give Putin a dangerous arms dealer – someone known as the “Merchant of Death” – is weak & disgusting. Doing so while leaving Paul behind is unforgivable,” said Scott.

Whelan originally went to Russia to attend a friend’s wedding. Russian officials claimed he had met with a Russian citizen who gave him a USB drive containing classified material.

Whelan was convicted of espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison. Whelan and the U.S. have denied these charges, but he still remains imprisoned.

In April, during the prisoner exchange for Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko and imprisoned U.S. citizen Trevor Reed, Whelan was left behind. At the time, the government reportedly did not inform his family that he wouldn’t be included in the exchange.

U.S. Rep. Cory Mills said Biden “clearly showed his priority is celebrities over veterans.”