EXCLUSIVE: Brittney Griner is expected to be swapped with 'Merchant of Death' arms dealer within WEEKS as Biden slams Russia for her 'wrongful detention' and nine-year sentence for smuggling cannabis vape
Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on Thursday
Joe Biden immediately promised to free her and said he would do 'anything'
The deal he has proposed is to swap her with Viktor Boult, a notorious arms dealer who was jailed in 2008
Biden failed to secure a deal with the Russia to swap the pair before the sentence was handed down
Now, amid a swell of public pressure, his 'position has weakened' in those negotiations, a source said
The source - who is close to the negotiations - said it's likely a deal will be reached in under a month
It's unclear if Paul Whelan is part of the deal - he has been jailed since 2018
Griner pleaded guilty to bringing an illegal marijuana pen into Russia in February
She claimed it was an accident and that they somehow got into her bag, despite the strict laws in Russia
By Jennifer Smith, Chief Reporter For Dailymail.Com
Published: 16:17 EDT, 4 August 2022 | Updated: 16:57 EDT, 4 August 2022
Brittney Griner is expected to be swapped by America for the 'Merchant of Death' arms dealer within weeks as Joe Biden scrambles to undo her nine-year prison sentence for smuggling cannabis into the country, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Griner was today sentenced to nine years in prison for smuggling a weed pen into Moscow in February. The 31-year-old WNBA star claimed in court it was an 'honest mistake' and that she didn't mean to bring the drugs in.
For weeks, speculation has run rampant that the White House was preparing to negotiate a swap of Griner and Paul Whelan, another US citizen being held in Russian prison, in exchange for Viktor Bout, an arms dealer who was arrested in 2008 in Thailand at the request of the US authorities.
The Russians refused to agree on a deal before Griner's sentence, citing the need for judicial process.
Now, Biden - amid a swell of public pressure from Griner's fans in the world of sport and Hollywood - is rushing to have her released.
A source close to the ongoing negotiations told DailyMail.com that a deal to swap Griner with Bout is now more likely than ever, and could be completed within a month if there are no delays to the process.
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