According to reports, the Biden administration has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year US prison sentence, as part of a potential deal to secure the release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. Brittney Griner has been wrongfully detained by Russia since February for alleged drug possession. Paul Whelan has been held by Russia for alleged espionage since 2018. Reportedly, this potential trade has been under discussion for months and President Joe Biden has finally given his backing to the plan. However, the Department of Justice is against prisoner trades and does not support the swap. A senior administration official spoke on the trade-off and said,
“We communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of conversations with the Russians. We communicated that a number of weeks ago, in June
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