{"id":1771579,"date":"2022-12-11T06:30:31","date_gmt":"2022-12-11T11:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1771579"},"modified":"2022-12-11T10:49:08","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T15:49:08","slug":"who-is-paul-whelan-the-marine-vet-left-behind-in-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/who-is-paul-whelan-the-marine-vet-left-behind-in-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Paul Whelan, the Marine Vet Left Behind in Russia?"},"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\">22<\/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%2Fwho-is-paul-whelan-the-marine-vet-left-behind-in-russia%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=1771579&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--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/taskandpurpose.com\/uploads\/2022\/12\/09\/Griner-Whelan-Bout.jpg?auto=webp\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\"     style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">The U.S. government\u2019s recent success with negotiating the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout has been somewhat tempered by the fact that Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan remains in Russian captivity.<\/p>\n<p>Whelan was working in Moscow as the corporate security director for an automotive parts supplier when Russian authorities <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/europe\/family-of-american-arrested-in-russia-on-spy-charges-fears-for-his-safety\/2019\/01\/01\/418f5baa-0dbd-11e9-84fc-d58c33d6c8c7_story.html\" rel=\"noopener\">arrested him in 2018 on espionage charges<\/a>. Two years later, a Russian court <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/europe\/verdict-for-american-paul-whelan-held-in-russia-on-spy-charges-expected-monday\/2020\/06\/15\/175fc7a4-aa5e-11ea-a43b-be9f6494a87d_story.html\" rel=\"noopener\">sentenced Whelan to 16 years hard labor.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The U.S. government has long denied that Whelan was working as a spy in Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When President Joe Biden spoke on Thursday at the White House about Griner\u2019s release, he said that Whelan has been \u201cunjustly detained in Russia for years,\u201d adding that the Russians refused to include Whelan in the agreement that led to Griner\u2019s release.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was not a choice of which American to bring home,\u201d Biden said. \u201cWe brought home [Marine Corps veteran] Trevor Reed when we had a chance earlier this year.\u00a0 Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul\u2019s case differently than Brittney\u2019s.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul\u2019s release, we are not giving up,\u201d Biden continued. \u201cWe will never give up.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/taskandpurpose.com\/newsletters\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Subscribe to Task &#038; Purpose Today<\/strong><\/a><strong>. Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Yet Biden administration critics, such as Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) have accused the Biden administration of prioritizing Griner\u2019s release over getting Whelan home because of the former\u2019s celebrity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t buy Biden saying they didn\u2019t have a choice to bring U.S. Marine Whelan home,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/michaelgwaltz\/status\/1601212436417482754?s=20&#038;t=u0VHyanDhJ-rVQTRezl29g\" rel=\"noopener\">Waltz tweeted on Friday.<\/a> \u201cWhen do we start dictating the terms to Putin, the Iranian Regime, terrorists, &#038; our adversaries around the world?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;While I welcome the release of Brittney Griner, I cannot help but think about Paul Whelan \u2014 as he has apparently been abandoned by the Biden administration.&#8221; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepMikeRogersAL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"noopener\">@RepMikeRogersAL<\/a> 2\/2<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Armed Services GOP (@HASCRepublicans) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HASCRepublicans\/status\/1600876052229693440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"noopener\">December 8, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Whelan\u2019s status as a Marine veteran has earned him <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/gop-rips-brittney-griner-deal-stranding-paul-whelan-russia-celebrities-veterans\" rel=\"noopener\">widespread support among Republican lawmakers.<\/a> He served in the Marine Corps Reserve from 1994 to 2008 as an administrative clerk and administrative chief, according to his service record, which was provided by the Corps. He made two deployments to Iraq,from February to August 2004 and then from February to December 2006.<\/p>\n<p>But Whelan was ultimately demoted from staff sergeant to private and given a bad conduct discharge after being convicted at a Jan. 14, 2008, special court-martial of attempted larceny, dereliction of duty, making a false official statement, wrongfully using another person\u2019s Social Security number, and writing bad checks, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jag.navy.mil\/courts\/documents\/archive\/2008\/WHELAN,%20P.N.%20200800152%20PCE.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">according to military records.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Specifically, Whelan was found guilty of trying to steal $10,000 while deployed to Iraq in 2006, bouncing about $6,000 in checks and using the other person\u2019s Social Security number to log into a training system to grade his own examinations, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/europe\/four-countries-now-have-links-to-american-detained-in-russia-as-international-spillover-widens\/2019\/01\/04\/25d93b2e-1029-11e9-8f0c-6f878a26288a_story.html\" rel=\"noopener\">the Washington Post reported.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/09\/us\/politics\/brittney-griner-prisoner-swap.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&#038;referringSource=articleShare\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times reported<\/a> that the Russians were unwilling to include Whelan in the prisoner exchange for Griner because they view him as a spy, so they would only release him in return for a Russian spy in custody, such as<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/12\/15\/world\/europe\/germany-russia-berlin-murder.html\" rel=\"noopener\"> Vadim Krasikov<\/a>, who was sentenced to life in prison after a German court convicted him in 2021 of killing a Chechen separatist in Berlin.<\/p>\n<p>Russian officials had long insisted that Krasikov be released as part of a deal for Griner and Whelan, but in November the Russian government offered to release Griner in exchange for Bout, according to the New York Times. The Russians refused to include Whelan in the agreement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was not a choice for us on \u2013 of which American to bring home,\u201d White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday. \u201cThat was not the choice.\u00a0 It was a choice between bringing home one American or bringing home none.\u00a0 And we brought one home today, and that is important to note.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whelan\u2019s brother David<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/family-paul-whelan-american-imprisoned-russia-says-warned-brittney-gri-rcna60732\" rel=\"noopener\"> told NBC News<\/a> that the Biden administration made the right decision to go ahead with the prisoner swap for Griner, adding, \u201cWe do not begrudge Ms. Griner her freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/12\/08\/politics\/paul-whelan-cnn-interview-brittney-griner\/index.html\" rel=\"noopener\">Whelan told CNN<\/a> that he has been \u201cgreatly disappointed\u201d that the U.S. government has not done more to secure his release, especially considering this month marks the fourth anniversary of his arrest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was arrested for a crime that never occurred,\u201d he told CNN by phone. \u201cI don\u2019t understand why I\u2019m still sitting here.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-latest-on-task-purpose\"><em>The latest on Task &#038; Purpose<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Want to write for Task &#038; Purpose?<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/taskandpurpose.com\/news\/task-purpose-writing-pitching\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong> <\/strong><strong>Click here<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. government\u2019s recent success with negotiating the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout has been somewhat tempered by the fact that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1897721,"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":[5458,3691,7801,5531,3819,4280,6866,7835],"class_list":["post-1771579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-bongino","tag-left","tag-marine","tag-paul","tag-report","tag-russia","tag-vet","tag-whelan"],"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\/1771579","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=1771579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1897721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1771579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1771579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1771579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}