Biden meets with Brittney Griner’s wife and Paul Whelan’s sister: Is a prisoner swap in the works?

Through Maureen Meihan

President Joe Biden will meet with family members of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan Friday as the White House continues to press for their release through prisoner swap negotiations, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The meetings will be with Griner’s wife, Cherelle, and Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth, and will be held separately. This will be the first in-person meeting with Biden and the family members, although Biden spoke to Cherelle Griner over the phone in July.

At the meeting scheduled for Friday, Biden will “discuss his ongoing commitment to bringing her family members home safely,” Jean-Pierre said. “As we have said before, we believe Russia is wrong to be holding Brittany and Paul in unbearable circumstances.”

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Negotiations with Russia are ongoing

The White House has held talks with Russian officials regarding the release of Griner and Whelan. Biden said last month he was confident an agreement could be reached to release Griner, although there had been little sign of progress on either side since then.

“I would like to say that the purpose of this meeting is to inform the families that the Russians have accepted our offer and we are bringing their loved ones home. We don’t see that in these negotiations right now,” Jean-Pierre said, according to The Associated Press.

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“You see, as I said, the Russians should accept our offer. You should accept our offer today. We will continue to work diligently until the day we announce this good news.”

What is hopeful, however, is that former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was in Moscow this week, raising expectations about talks to bring Griner and Whelan home in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

And this guy too?

And now it has been rumored that Russian criminal mastermind Alexander Vinnik, who is accused of laundering more than $4 billion through the Bitcoin (BTC/USD) digital currency, could potentially be included in the prisoner swap. Vinnik was extradited to the US last month for money laundering.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was arrested at a Moscow airport on February 17 for having less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. Seven days later, Russia invaded Ukraine.

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Like other athletes who play abroad in the off-season for extra income, Griner has played on a Russian team for the past seven years.

Griner was sentenced on August 4 to nine years in a Russian penal colony. Shortly thereafter, her Russian legal team appealed the verdict.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.