#shorts On 12/8/2022, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “Just revisiting Seung Min’s question on just the precedent that this might possibly set, I guess, what would the President’s message be to any foreign actor or rogue country that has watched all of this unfold and might be thinking, “Okay, so this was possible in this situation, so this is something that we might be able to pull off too”?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, you know, Russia and — sadly, Russia and other countries have already been willing to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens. This is something that has been occurring for some time, as you know …
Q But is there a concern of this kind of precedent being set?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, what I can say — again, this is — this is something that we have seen not just Russia and other countries continue to do. This is something that they’ve been willing to do …
Joe Biden announced he traded the world’s most wanted Russian Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Biden’s decision to swap Brittney Griner. Meanwhile, Paul Whelan, a former Marine who is now 52, is still imprisoned in Russia. Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018 and accused of spying. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Karine Jean-Pierre defended Biden and said Brittney Griner is an important role model for the queer community and women of color, “The choice was bring Brittney home or no one,” Karine Jean-Pierre said. “The president will never stop working to secure Paul Whelan’s release. On a personal note, Brittney is an important role model, an inspiration to millions of Americans particularly the LGBTQI+ Americans and women of color,” KJP said. Jean-Pierre added that the Kremlin was “not willing to negotiate in good faith” to release Whelan, who Russia convicted of spying, and side-stepped questions about Fogel — who, like Griner, was sentenced to prison this year for possessing a small amount of marijuana.
other clips of this published longer video is here: https://youtu.be/0QWg_-kLXhQ
Precedent being set? President’s message to foreign actor or rogue country watched?