On August 1st the largest prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War went down in Ankara, Turkey. Russia handed over 24 prisoners in total, including three American citizens. Other prisoners were from Western countries or Kremlin dissidents. In exchange, the participating Western nations, including the U.S., handed over several high-value Russian prisoners convicted of crimes spanning from assassinations to corporate espionage.
Some notable prisoners who were returned to Russia included, Vadim Krasikov, a former FSB colonel who was serving a life sentence in Germany for assassinating the former Chechen fighter Zelimkhan Khangoshvili on behalf of the Russian State. Vadim murdered Khangoshvili "execution style" in a public park in Berlin. Vladim was joined by several Russian spies, hackers, and thieves on a flight home on Thursday.
In return, the U.S. got Evan Gershkovich, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage on what the West has deemed as "trumped-up charges." Similarly, Paul Whelan, a former Marine who was accused of espionage and sentenced to prison, was also released. Gershkovick and Whelan were accompanied out of Russia by other journalists and several Russian dissidents who had ties to other Western countries.
"As usual, it was a win for Putin."
Former President Trump was quick to call this a Biden administration failure and a "win for Putin." Though he expressed his thankfulness that the prisoners in Russia had returned home, he said the swap was a "great deal" for Russia and pointed out the danger of setting this kind of precedent.
Glenn also had his doubts about the value of the prisoner swap and was quick to point out that the American hostages in Gaza have been held captive for over 300 days yet are never mentioned by the media or politicians. Glenn also brought up the HORRIFIC deal recently made with the mastermind behind 9/11, Khalid Shik Mohammaed. The deal would remove the death penalty as a possible punishment for the murder of nearly 3,000 people on September 11th, 2001 if Khalid Shik Mohammaed pleads guilty.
What do you think? Was the prisoner swap a win for Putin? Or just another distraction from MUCH bigger stories? Do you agree with the way the Biden administration has been conducting these high-profile plea deals and prisoner exchanges? Let us know in the poll below: