Paul Whelan says he's 'greatly disappointed that' Biden admin hasn't tried harder to get him released

Earlier today, Dallas Cowboys linebacker and defensive end Micah Parsons expressed his dismay at the news that the Biden administration had traded terrorist Viktor Bout to Russia in exchange for WNBA player Brittney Griner, with imprisoned retired Marine Paul Whelan not being part of the deal. Parsons eventually walked back his criticism of the Biden administration, saying that he’d spoken with people who explained the situation to him in a way where he realized he’d made a mistake.

He hadn’t made a mistake, of course, but apparently he found some of the criticism of his tweets pretty persuasive. A number of people who called Parsons out pointed out that Whelan’s family said in a statement that they’re satisfied with the swap as it went down.

NEW from the Whelan family: "There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed & for them to go home. The Biden Admin made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, & to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to..”

— Nick Kalman (@NickKalmanFN) December 8, 2022

Apparently Parsons and the rest of us are supposed to take that statement at face value and just kind of move on, because, after all, if Whelan’s family has come to terms with his fate, we should, too.

Except Whelan’s family doesn’t seem to have come to terms with his fate just yet:

David Whelan, brother of imprisoned Paul Whelan: "How do you continue to survive,day after day,when you know that your government has failed twice to free you from a foreign prison? I can't imagine he retains any hope that a government will negotiate his freedom at this point…" https://t.co/Skq4hwHmnQ

— Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) December 8, 2022

David Whelan may be onto something. Because it certainly doesn’t sound like Paul Whelan is feeling terribly optimistic at the moment:

Paul Whelan tells CNN: “I am greatly disappointed more hasn't been done to secure my release, especially as the four year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. I was arrested for a crime that never occurred. I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”https://t.co/6KMof1iQLl

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 8, 2022

More from CNN:

Whelan said he was happy that Griner was released, but told CNN, “I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four year anniversary of my arrest is coming up.”

“I was arrested for a crime that never occurred,” he said in a phone call from the penal colony where he is being held in a remote part of Russia. “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

The interview took place shortly after President Joe Biden, standing alongside Griner’s wife Cherelle at the White House, also expressed regret that the US had not been able to get Whelan out. Biden vowed the US would “never give up” on him. US officials said the Russians refused to negotiate his release.

…

“I was led to believe that things were moving in the right direction, and that the governments were negotiating and that something would happen fairly soon,” he said.

Here is audio of Whelan’s remarks to CNN:

An American whose been held hostage in Russia for four years, Paul Whelan, told CNN: "I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release" pic.twitter.com/RvyeGkn5bb

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 8, 2022

That’s difficult to hear. But if anyone needs to hear it right now, it’s the Biden administration, who needs to stop patting themselves on the back for scoring pro-LGBTQ points and focus on getting Whelan home, especially since they just traded away arguably the biggest bargaining chip they had.

But so many journalists and lefties told me Whelan’s family was thrilled about the deal https://t.co/ZHutMUi6M6

— Sunny McSunnyface (@sunnyright) December 8, 2022

Maybe Whelan’s family should advise him to declare himself to be a trans woman. If he could check the right boxes, he might have a shot at getting the Biden administration’s attention.

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