{"id":1769847,"date":"2022-12-09T06:30:20","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T11:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1769847"},"modified":"2022-12-09T10:20:11","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T15:20:11","slug":"joe-biden-gives-russia-merchant-of-death-viktor-bout-in-exchange-for-wnba-player-brittney-griner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-gives-russia-merchant-of-death-viktor-bout-in-exchange-for-wnba-player-brittney-griner\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Biden Gives Russia \u201cMerchant of Death\u201d Viktor Bout in Exchange for WNBA Player Brittney Griner\u200b\u200b"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjoe-biden-gives-russia-merchant-of-death-viktor-bout-in-exchange-for-wnba-player-brittney-griner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1769847&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Olympian and WNBA champion Brittney Griner, who was arrested and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2022\/10\/25\/brittney-griner-russia-sentence\/\">sentenced<\/a> to nine-years of hard labor in a Russian penal camp for bringing cannabis vape cartridges into the country, has been exchanged with Russian national and notorious arms dealer Victor Bout as the result of a deal between the United States and Russia in order to secure Griner\u2019s freedom.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7535\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7535\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7535 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.35.33-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1614\" height=\"860\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.35.33-AM.png 1614w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.35.33-AM-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.35.33-AM-1340x714.png 1340w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.35.33-AM-768x409.png 768w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.35.33-AM-480x256.png 480w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.35.33-AM-600x320.png 600w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.35.33-AM-750x400.png 750w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.35.33-AM-1200x639.png 1200w\"     style=\"display:none\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7535\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brittney Griner via ESPN YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Griner, who had spent 10 months in Russia already, was confirmed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/brittney-griner-released-russian-prison-swap-convicted-arms-dealer\">Fox News<\/a>\u00a0late last night to have been released and turned over into American custody so that she could be returned home.<\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden announced the news over by posting a tweet with photos of him and Vice President Kamala Harris in the company of Griner\u2019s partner, Cherelle Griner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner,\u201d Biden posted. \u201cShe is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7529\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7529\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7529 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.16.52-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1082\" height=\"1086\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.16.52-AM.png 1082w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.16.52-AM-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.16.52-AM-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.16.52-AM-768x771.png 768w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.16.52-AM-125x125.png 125w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.16.52-AM-750x753.png 750w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7529\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: POTUS Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>RELATED:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/2022\/11\/candace-owens-claims-brittney-griners-punishment-amounts-to-an-unnecessary-casualty-of-this-unnecessary-war\/\">Candace Owens Claims Brittney Griner\u2019s \u201cPunishment Amounts To An Unnecessary Casualty Of This Unnecessary War\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Biden would go on to also hold a White House press conference where he continued to celebrate the news as a diplomatic victory, however, not once during this speech did he at all mention that the US government handed over a dangerous international criminal as part of the deal.<\/p>\n<p>Biden said during the speech that \u201cAfter months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances, Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-block full\">\n<div class=\"video-player youtube\">[embedded content]<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>RELATED:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/2022\/10\/former-russian-ambassader-to-the-united-states-claims-president-joe-biden-and-his-administration-are-playing-electoral-politics-with-brittney-griner\/\">Former Russian Ambassader To The United States Claims President Joe Biden And His Administration Are Playing Electoral Politics With Brittney Griner<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am grateful to the State Department team and to our colleagues across the government who worked tirelessly to secure her release,\u201d said Secretary of State Antony Blinken who also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/the-release-of-brittney-griner-from-russia\/\">released a statement<\/a> to coincide with the news.<\/p>\n<p>Bout, who has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-11036569\">called<\/a> the \u201cMerchant of Death\u201d by the media, was rumored months ago to have been an essential bargaining chip in order to secure Griner\u2019s release. The Russian was being held in federal prison in the middle of a 25-year sentence at the time of his release. He had been convicted on the grounds of conspiracy to kill American citizens as the result of dealings with terrorist organizations in Columbia.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7533\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7533\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7533 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.25.38-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1618\" height=\"864\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.25.38-AM.png 1618w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.25.38-AM-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.25.38-AM-1340x716.png 1340w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.25.38-AM-768x410.png 768w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.25.38-AM-480x256.png 480w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.25.38-AM-600x320.png 600w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.25.38-AM-750x400.png 750w, https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-08-at-11.25.38-AM-1200x641.png 1200w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7533\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Viktor Bout via Reuters YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bout began his journey to becoming on of the most infamous arms dealers in recent history when after the fall of the Soviet Union. He built his criminal empire by acquiring Russian aircraft and selling those and other Soviet armaments to the highest bidder. His exploits were also the inspiration for the popular Nicolas Cage film, \u201cLord of War.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Do you think this deal was worth it? Let us know in the comments below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NEXT:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.boundingintosports.com\/2022\/10\/megan-rapinoe-calls-lsu-womens-basketball-coach-kim-mulkeys-silence-on-brittney-griner-cruel-and-evil\/\">Megan Rapinoe Calls LSU Women\u2019s Basketball Coach Kim Mulkey\u2019s Silence On Brittney Griner \u201cCruel And Evil\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Olympian and WNBA champion Brittney Griner, who was arrested and sentenced to nine-years of hard labor in a Russian penal camp for bringing cannabis vape cartridges into the country, has<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1898301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[7187,3620,5458,6222,6887,6499,4063,6849,7189,4016,3819,4280,6224,7188],"class_list":["post-1769847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-merchant","tag-biden","tag-bongino","tag-bout","tag-brittney","tag-death","tag-exchange","tag-griner","tag-joe","tag-player","tag-report","tag-russia","tag-viktor","tag-wnba"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1769847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1898301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1769847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1769847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1769847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}