From a metal cage in a cramped courtroom in a Moscow suburb, 31-year-old NBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner got the book thrown at her when a Russian judge sentenced her to nine years in prison. No surprise there other than the finality of it all, with the Biden administration blowing all attempts to return Griner home with a prisoner swap. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with 71-year-old Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov July 28, it was dubbed as a “frank” discussion. But why should Blinken, who hasn’t talked with Lavrov since before the Feb. 24 Ukraine invasion, expect the Kremlin to accept his offer of a prisoner swap to get Griner out jail? Blinken told the press that he made Lavrov a strong offer for a two-for-one swap involving Griner, 52-year-old convicted spy Paul Whelan for 55-year-old convicted Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout.
How arrogant and naive of Blinken to urge Lavrov to accept the U.S. offer to get Britney out of a Moscow jail. When does the vulnerable, powerless party call the shots, urging Lavrov to accept the U.S. offer? Certainly Blinken knows that extraordinary conditions exist today with 79-year-old President Joe Biden paying Ukraine to fight a bloody proxy war with the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin, 69, heard Biden loud-and-clear when he told the world March 26 in Warsaw Poland that Putin should not remain as Russian leader. If that weren’t bad enough, 69-year-old Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the U.S. mission in Ukraine telling an audience in Ramstein, Germany April 26 that the U.S. would degrade the Russian military to the point it could no longer wage war. So, Austin confirmed the U.S. was at war with the Russian Federation.
When conditions exist like that, how can Blinken act like he’s calling the shots when it comes to getting Griner out of jail? Whatever the deal signed off by Biden, the fact that the White House is at war with the Russian Federation changes everything when it comes to hostage negotiations. Watch Britney’s face turn to stone when the judge read her sentence tells the real story of the current dilemma. “Secretary of State Blinken, President Biden’s national security team and the entire American government remain committed to bring Miss Grisner home safely to her family, friends and loved ones,” said Deputy Chief of the U.S. mission in Moscow Elizabeth Rood. Rood, of course, is far removed from any negotiation to get Griner out of jail. Girner’s attorney Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov called the sentence “absolutely reasonable,” saying they “will certainly file an appeal.”
All the players in Girner’s cannabis possession case have zero to do with what happens at the top levels of the U.S. government. Blinken blew a golden opportunity with Lavrov to ask the seasoned Russian diplomat what kind of deal would help facilitate a prisoner swap. Instead, the socially awkward Blinken, dictated terms of Griner’s release, urging Lavrov to accept the U.S. offer to get her out. “As legal professionals, we believe the court should be fair to everyone regardless of nationality,” said Blagovolin and Boykov. Neither have anything to do with negotiations to get Griner and Whelan out of Russian jail. Watching Blinken, who has virtually no rapport with Lavrov, try to dictate terms of Britney’s release, shows how out-of-touch the Biden White House is fighting its bloody proxy war with the Russian Federation. If Biden and Blinken were serious about the prisoner swap, they need to put more on the table.
Let there be no mistake, Griner is caught in a political vice because the Biden White House finds itself at war with the Russian Federation. What possible reason should Putin show any compassion to the White House when Biden supplies Ukraine unlimited cash-and-weapons to fight the Russian Federation? When it comes to getting Griner and others out of jail, it’s going to take more that a one-sided proposal. Griner’s statement to the court reflected contradictory evidence presented at trial. “I know that everybody keeps talking about apolitical pawn and politics, but I hope that is far from this courtroom. I want to say again that I had not intent of breaking Russian laws. I had no intent. I did not conspire or plan to commit this crime,” Griner told the judge. Griner’s attorneys presented her medical marijuana prescription from Arizona, proving her drug possession was no accident.
Biden and Blinken’s proposal to get Griner and Whelan out of jail was a naïve attempt to secure her release. Given the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine and Biden’s stated objective of vanquishing the Russian military, how can Biden and Blinken think their proposal was serious? Blinken said he made a “substantial proposal” to secure the release of Griner and Whelan, something so detached from reality it’s laughable to the Kremlin. If Biden and Blinken want to get serious about getting Griner and others out of jail, they need to pivot in their proxy war against the Russian Federation. Griner said she hoped she was not a political pawn but how could she be anything else? “The political calculus which the Kremlin knows, is that Biden cannot let her sit in a Russian prison for that long,” said William Partlett, Melbourne law professor and expert on Russian politics. Biden needs to do much more to get Griner home.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
