On 12/8/2022, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, ” Was there a risk assessment to determine how dangerous Bout may be now that he’s been released back into the world? And what is the result, if there was one? How should people be thinking about the fact that this man is free?”
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, again, this was not a decision that the President made lightly. I just want to be very clear on that …
Reporter: But in making that decision, surely, he heard from officials, the intelligence community, about how dangerous Bout is or is not. So I’m just asking —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, I hear the question.
Reporter: — the degree of the assessment.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I hear your question. I’m not going to get into specifics about what the President was told … Again, this is not a decision that he made lightly.
Reporter: And on the statement that was put out that the governments of the UAE and Saudi Arabia were engaged in mediating this deal, some have drawn a link between the fact that the lawsuit was dropped just days ago against MBS for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. What do you say to those who see a link in this broader deal?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, this is a — this is — this negotiation was in the works for months, as I just laid out. I just went through the timeline. Right? We talked about …
Reporter: Thank you, Karine. A quick question on Saudi Arabia’s involvement in securing Griner’s release. How do you view the Crown Prince’s involvement here? Do you view this as an act of good faith? And how do you think this will help them as the U.S. reevaluates its alliance with Saudi?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as I’ve said before, this negotiation was between the U.S. government and Russia … And I won’t have — I don’t have anything further to share on that.
Reporter: So there was — there were U.S. officials on the background call this morning thanking the Emiratis, for example, but there was no explicit mention of MBS and the role he played. I mean, is the administration still extending their gratitude or a thank you to —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Again, the only countries that negotiated this deal were the United States and Russia …
Reporter: And can you clarify: When the Saudis say that the Crown Prince, MBS, was involved in mediation efforts to secure Griner’s release, is that true?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I don’t have anything else to share beyond of what I’ve said. I’ll refer you — again, let them speak for themselves. But I’m — I’m not going to comment beyond what I just laid out of — of what we saw — who we’re thankful to and what we saw the — the involvement.
Again — but it was — the deal was negotiated. The only countries that actually negotiated this deal was the United States and Russia.
Reporter: I guess, do you make anything of the fact that they are saying that MBS was involved?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not — I’m just not going to say beyond — more be- — outside of what I’ve just laid out.
Reporter: And a quick one on the Whelan family saying that the United States needs to be more aggressive in arresting Russian criminals so there is more leverage during negotiations. One of the options is for the U.S. to arrest more Russians that, you know, the government is sanctioning already. Is that sort of a feasible path being floated? Is that — you know, how would you respond to that?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything more to share or anything to add or preview on your question.
Look, as you know, the President recently put forward — the Biden administration expanded their toolkit …
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How dangerous Bout? Link between MBS lawsuit dropped & Saudi mediating Griner deal? Nothing specific, nothing to share