'My Bags Are Packed': Former Marine Paul Whelan Furious With President Biden After Britney Griner's Release
Dec. 8 2022, Published 5:54 p.m. ET
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan declared his disappointment in President Joe Biden over a lack of effort to secure his release from Russian imprisonment. Whelan said that his "bags are packed" after the Biden administration confirmed the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner on December 8, RadarOnline.com has learned.
President Biden announced that an agreement had been reached in regard to Griner's imprisonment in Russia after she was found guilty of a drug charge from a February 2022 incident at a Russian airport.
Griner's freedom was secured in an exchange for the release of convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. Whelan, who has maintained his innocence, expressed his disappointment in a lack of effort by the Biden administration to include his release in Griner's deal.
Whelan, 53, revealed his disheartened feelings in an interview at the Russian penal colony, where he is housed, on December 8.
"I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here," he told CNN.
Whelan is Canadian-born but served in the U.S. Marines. He held citizenship status in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and Britain.
The former Marine was arrested at a Moscow hotel and accused of espionage in December 2018. Although he denied the accusation, Whelan was convicted on June 15, 2020, and received a 16-year sentence for the crime he claimed he never committed.
While Griner admitted to the possession of the THC vape pen that was found in her luggage, the U.S. government arranged an exchange to bring her home before her 9-year sentence was fully served — an action that Whelan described as a "disappointment."
"I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release," the detained U.S. citizen said. "Especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up."
"I was arrested for a crime that never occurred," Whelan continued. "I was arrested for a crime that never occurred."
Whelan said that he hoped the U.S. government "would do everything they could to get me home, regardless of the price they might have to pay at this point."
President Biden spoke at a press conference on Griner's release, expressing continued efforts to bring Whelan back to the States.
United States Marines
"Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s," the president stated on Whelan's negotiations. "And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up."
Biden reiterated that the decision was "not a choice of which American to bring home."
Whelan expressed his happiness for Griner and her family but not without making a declaration of his frustration with U.S. officials.
Whelan claimed that he was "led to believe that things were moving in the right direction," and that "the governments were negotiating." From this information, Whelan believed his overdue release "would happen fairly soon."
"My bags are packed," Whelan pleaded to the government he formally served. "I’m ready to go home. I just need an airplane to come and get me."
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