December 10, 2022 3:30pm EST
DOJ officials call Biden's Griner, ’Merchant of Death’ swap ‘mistake,’ ‘madness’
Critics believe U.S. could have gotten Marine veteran Paul Whelan along with Griner in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout
By Gabriel Hays | Fox News
A Friday report in the Washington Post noted U.S. Department of Justice officials viewed President Joe Biden’s prisoner swap of WNBA player Brittney Griner for dangerous Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout as a "mistake."
According to the outlet, people from America’s top law enforcement agencies have expressed concern that the "discrepancy of offenses by the two prisoners" meant that the deal was not a good one.
The Post detailed this gap in offenses, stating that Griner was detained for "possessing a small amount of cannabis oil. Bout, whose arms fueled conflicts from Sudan to Rwanda to Afghanistan to Angola, is nicknamed the ‘Merchant of Death,’ and his illicit transactions with violent regimes and militant groups earned him a 25-year sentence in federal prison."
Many in the media blasted the trade Friday, arguing that Biden should have received more hostages from Russia in return for such a dangerous prisoner. Some argued that Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who is still serving a sentence in Russia on espionage charges, should have been included in the deal.
As the Washington Post claimed Friday, top government officials feel the same way. The piece stated, "But the president also faced opposition from his own Justice Department, which viewed Thursday’s one-for-one prisoner swap involving Griner and the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout as a mistake given the discrepancy of offenses by the two prisoners."
It added, "Within the Justice Department, many officials resisted the idea of trading Bout before his scheduled release in 2029, according to current and former officials."
The piece quoted an anonymous DOJ official, who said of Griner's release, "If she were my relative, I would want to do the swap. But trading a notorious international arms dealer for a basketball player is madness."
The Post noted that the State Department had been seeking a trade with Russia "involving Bout that would include the release of both Whelan and Griner." Though "officials familiar with the matter" said "Moscow refused unless the United States also secured the release of Vadim Krasnikov, a former colonel from Russia’s internal spy agency."
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https://www.foxnews.com/media/doj-officials-call-bidens-griner-merchant-death-swap-mistake-madness 
