Is Marc Fogel Wrongfully Detained? Jean-Pierre: 'I Can't Speak to Any Individual, Specific Case' (December 8, 2022)

The day Brittney Griner was freed from a Russian prison, reporters asked the White House about another American still there: Marc Fogel, a schoolteacher held on marijuana charges.

“He’s doing a 14-year sentence for less than an ounce of pot. Would you say he’s been wrongfully detained? There’s some lawmakers who want to classify it that way,” a reporter asked [1].

“Again, I can’t — I can’t speak to any individual, specific case at this time. I would refer you to the State Department,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said [1].

Fogel came home 26 months later, after President Donald Trump’s special envoy flew him out of Russia. “President Trump is a hero,” Fogel said at the White House [3].

The video above shows the exchange from the Dec. 8, 2022, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcripts published by the American Presidency Project [1][3].

”How Is His Case Different?”

Fogel came up twice that day. Earlier in the briefing, a reporter asked why the administration was not doing for him what it had done for Griner. “Have there been any similar efforts regarding American Marc Fogel, who is also in Russia, also arrested on marijuana charges? How is his case different?” [1]

“So, look, we take seriously our responsibility to assist U.S. citizens abroad and are monitoring the situation. Any specifics on Marc Fogel or any others, I would — I would refer you to the State Department for additional information on those specific cases,” Jean-Pierre said. “Every case is different” [1].

“But you do see a difference between Griner’s case and Fogel’s case?” a reporter pressed. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that sometimes we’re not able to talk about that particular individual,” Jean-Pierre said. “There are reasons for that — for their own security, for their own privacy” [1].

”Everyone Has a Different Classification”

When the question came back later in the briefing, Jean-Pierre gave the same answer. “Everyone has a different classification. I don’t want to get ahead of — of what the State Department is looking to move forward or how their diplomatic conversations or how they’re looking to move forward with that particular person,” she said [1].

“But we want — we want Americans to know that their safety and security is among our highest priorities. Again, I don’t want to get into specific — specific individuals from here,” she said [1].

The same briefing was dominated by the Griner deal, in which the United States released Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Jean-Pierre said Bout “was scheduled for release in 2029” and had “been allowed to return to Russia as part of this arrangement” [1].

”We Got Him Out Pretty Quickly”

On Feb. 11, 2025, the White House announced that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was “leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel.” National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Trump and his team “negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians” [2].

That night, Fogel stood with Trump at the White House. “I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now. And I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all, and President Trump is a hero,” he said [3].

Trump said Fogel’s mother had asked him at a campaign rally to bring her son home. “She said, ‘Will you—if you win, will you get my son out?’ And I promised—she’s 95 years old. And I said, ‘We’ll get him out.’ And we—we got him out pretty quickly,” Trump said [3].

Fogel borrowed from Winston Churchill. “I said, ‘Never has one owed so much to so many,’” he said. “I’m a middle-class schoolteacher who’s now in a—a dream world” [3].

“We’re going to show you the Lincoln Bedroom in a little while,” Trump told him [3].

Fogel described what he had been through. The support of his family and friends “sustained me for 3½ years in a prison that had me in hospitals for more than 100 days. I was given more than 400 injections in that time,” he said [3].

By the Numbers

• 14 years: Fogel’s sentence, as the reporter described it [1].
• 3½ years: how long Fogel said he was held [3].
• 100-plus days: time Fogel said he spent in prison hospitals [3].
• 22 days: from Trump’s inauguration to Fogel’s release [2].
• 95: the age of Fogel’s mother, according to Trump [3].

What Happened Next

Fogel thanked the team that freed him. “These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes. The Senators and Representatives that passed legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes,” Fogel said. He singled out Witkoff: “what a dynamic man this guy is” [3].

Trump credited his team. Asked whether he had spoken directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Fogel, Trump said: “Well, I don’t want to say that. I just want to say that I appreciate very much what they did in letting Marc go home. And I appreciate Steve Witkoff, the job he did. And Marco, behind the scenes, was unbelievable,” referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio [3].

Trump promised more. “Since President Trump’s swearing-in, he has successfully secured the release of Americans detained around the world, and President Trump will continue until all Americans being held are returned to the United States,” Waltz said [2].

For the Griner-for-Bout trade itself, see HYGO News’ page on Doocy and the Griner-for-Bout swap.

Sources

1. The American Presidency Project: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (December 8, 2022)
2. The American Presidency Project: Statement by the National Security Advisor on the Release of Marc Fogel from Detention in Russia (February 11, 2025)
3. The American Presidency Project: Remarks on Welcoming United States Citizen Marc Fogel Upon His Return From Detention in Russia and an Exchange With Reporters (February 11, 2025)