Doocy on the Griner-for-Bout Swap: Why Did Russia Get 'Such a Better Deal'? (December 8, 2022)

The day Brittney Griner came home, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked the question the deal’s critics were asking. “In this prisoner swap, why did Russia get such a better deal?” he asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “And they give up a professional athlete. We gave up a prolific arms dealer who was convicted of trying to kill Americans, who is called the ‘Merchant of Death.’”

The video above shows Doocy’s questions at the Dec. 8, 2022, briefing, hours after the United States sent Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout home in exchange for Griner’s release. Quotes are from the official briefing transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Brittney or No One at All”

Jean-Pierre had one answer all afternoon. “Here were our choices. Our choices was: Brittney or no one at all. Bring home one American or no American at all,” she told Doocy [1].

“The professional athlete is also an American citizen — so let’s not forget that,” she said.

“And Paul Whelan is an American citizen. So we could do this all day,” Doocy shot back [1].

Whelan had been held in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges [2]. Jean-Pierre said the Russians were treating him differently “because of a totally illegitimate charges that have been levied against him,” and promised the president would keep working “to bring Paul Whelan home, just like he did with Trevor Reed” [1].

”He’s Not Going to Call Up Vladimir Putin”

Doocy pressed on Biden’s own words. “How can you say that he’s going to do everything that he can if he said, just a few days ago, he’s not going to call up Vladimir Putin until further notice?” [1]

“We were able to do this through — through different channels,” Jean-Pierre said. “We were able to do this through — through different avenues — folks from the U.S. government that were able to make that negotiation.” On Whelan: “At this time, we were not able to make that happen. But that does not stop us” [1].

”A Terrible Man”

Doocy was not the only one pushing back. Another reporter reminded Jean-Pierre that when Bout was sentenced to 25 years, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, said Bout had conspired to sell AK-47s that he knew would be used to kill American drug agents. “What’s the President’s message to them and to others who say, essentially, that this was a bad deal, that this is a terrible man who has not fully paid his debt?” [1]

“Negotiations for release of wrongful detainees are often very difficult,” Jean-Pierre answered. “Viktor Bout, who served 12 years in U.S. prison facilities after being convicted with due process, who was scheduled for release in 2029, has been allowed to return to Russia as part of this arrangement” [1].

“We’re not going to apologize for that,” she said [1].

”A Gift to Vladimir Putin”

Republicans were blunter. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called the swap “a gift to Vladimir Putin,” saying it “endangers American lives,” a reporter told Jean-Pierre. Her response: “Basically, I’m just going to repeat what I have been saying” [1].

Another reporter asked whether the deal would encourage Russia and other governments to grab more Americans. “Look, I cannot speak for other countries,” Jean-Pierre said. “Russia and other countries have already been willing to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens” [1].

Asked whether the United States had given up anything that had not been disclosed, she said: “No” [1].

The Twitter Question

Doocy closed with a different topic. Days earlier, Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, had begun releasing the “Twitter Files,” internal records on how the company’s previous management handled the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story, including how outside parties flagged tweets to be “handled” [3].

“You’ve said a few times that you really can’t talk about communications between the Biden campaign and Twitter. Who is telling you that that’s off limits?” Doocy asked.

“I’ve already had that conversation with you — with your colleague, I believe, yesterday. I’ve already addressed this multiple times this week, so I don’t have anything more to add,” Jean-Pierre said. When Doocy tried again, noting it was “not a campaign question, though, an administration question,” she moved on: “I’m going to the back” [1].

”This Has Been Hell”

Biden announced the release that morning in the Roosevelt Room with Vice President Kamala Harris, Griner’s wife and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “President said Griner is safe. ‘This is a day we worked for a long time’ He thanked the UAE. ‘This has been hell’ for Griner and her family,” the White House pool reported [4].

He also addressed the American left behind. “He assures that Paul Whelan is still a priority,” the pooler wrote [4].

That afternoon, Biden took no questions. After a pension event, “The president did not answer to several shouted questions as he shook the hands of the event’s attendees,” the pool reported [4].

By the Numbers

12 years: the time Bout had served in U.S. prisons, according to Jean-Pierre [1].
2029: the year Bout had been scheduled for release [1].
25 years: the sentence Bout received, as the reporter noted [1].
Nearly 4 years: how long Whelan had been held when Griner came home; he was arrested Dec. 28, 2018 [2].
16: people freed from Russia in the August 2024 exchange that finally brought Whelan home, by Biden’s count [2].

What Happened Next

Whelan finally came home, 20 months later. On Aug. 1, 2024, Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza were released in a multi-country exchange. “All told, we’ve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia,” Biden said in a statement [2].

The social media fight went to court. The question of government pressure on social media companies ended up before the Supreme Court, as HYGO News reported in its page on Doocy’s question about the White House Twitter account.

More of Jean-Pierre’s answers, checked against the record, are on HYGO News’ Karine Jean-Pierre record page.