Biden administration officials are meeting Monday to discuss “next steps” in securing the release of ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison in 2020, CBS News reported.
- Hours after President Joe Biden announced the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner as part of a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, Whelan told CNN he was “greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four year anniversary of my arrest is coming up.”
- “We’re going to keep trying as hard as we can,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said of Whelan Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”