Trump Claims Putin Will Release Imprisoned WSJ Reporter 'for Me, But Not for Anyone Else'

Former President Donald Trump has claimed that if he is re-elected, he can get Russian President Vladimir Putin to release imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, RadarOnline.com has learned.

"Evan Gershkovich, the Reporter from The Wall Street Journal, who is being held by Russia, will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at 1:30 AM on Thursday.

"He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!"

T.J. Ducklo, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden's campaign, slammed Trump's claim in an email to NBC News, arguing that the ex-president "doesn’t give a damn about the innocent Americans unjustly imprisoned by Vladimir Putin."

"Trump has called journalists 'enemies of the people' and pledged to imprison reporters whose coverage he doesn’t like — not all that dissimilar to what’s happening right now to Evan Gershkovich in Russia," Ducklo continued.

"For Donald Trump, these wrongfully imprisoned Americans are political weapons and props to use for his own gain — for Joe Biden, they are human beings whose loved ones and family members he has spent time with. Their release remains an urgent priority, just like it was for the 60 Americans who were wrongfully detained or taken hostage that President Biden has already brought home since taking office."

Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesperson, insisted, "There is only one person who can negotiate the safe return of Mr. Gershkovich back to his family — President Trump."

Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, and his ties to Russia have been subject to intense scrutiny and investigation since he was elected president in 2016.

When asked about Trump's Truth Social post, a spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitri S. Peskov said that "Naturally, Putin has no contacts with Donald Trump," according to the Russian state-owned news agency TASS.

"As for communication on the issue of persons in custody, convicts, we can state once again what we have repeatedly said, that these talks must be carried out in complete silence and in an absolutely covert manner," Peskov added. "This is the only way to make them effective."

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Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March 2023 on espionage charges and has spent more than a year in a Moscow prison with no date set for a trial.

While Putin has claimed that Gershkovich was "caught red-handed," Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal, and the Biden administration have all strongly denied the spying charges.