The Biden administration offered to trade a convicted arms dealer to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, CNN reported Wednesday. President Joe Biden approved the proposal to trade Bout for Griner and Whelan, both of whom the U.S. consider to be wrongly detained, CNN reported. Whelan was convicted of alleged espionage in 2020, two years after the Russian government purportedly found a flash drive containing classified information. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed during his Wednesday press briefing that the White House proposed a prisoner exchange, although he declined to say who the U.S. offered in exchange for Griner and Whelan. “We believe this is a serious proposal and we want the Russians to take it seriously as well,” Kirby explained.

Source: CNN July 27, 2022 20:40 UTC