Experts Warn Against Giving Up Notorious Terrorist Back to Russia In Prisoner Exchange

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WNBA player Brittney Griner traveled to Russia where she was arrested for carrying cannabis oil vape cartridges in her luggage. The crime of drug possession and smuggling carries a penalty of 10 years in prison.

Griner was stopped at a Russian airport and later pled guilty to the charges.

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To gain her freedom, Joe Biden is offering to trade notorious Russian terrorist arms dealer Viktor Bout who is serving a 25-year sentence in a U.S. prison.

Bout, who inspired the movie “Lord of War” starring Nicholas Cage, was found guilty of conspiracy to kill Americans, conspiracy to deliver anti-aircraft missiles, and aiding a terrorist organization.

🚨 POLL: Is this a good trade for the U.S.?
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He offered $20 million in weapons to a narco-terrorist group called Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

This “breathtaking arsenal of weapons” included hundreds of surface-to-air missiles, machine guns and sniper rifles. He also offered 10 million rounds of ammunition and five tons of plastic explosives.

Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” was captured in a sting operation carried out by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration informants in Bangkok, Thailand.

In addition to receiving Griner, the trade would also free 52-year-old retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan who was arrested in 2018 in Russia on espionage charges.

Whelan was found guilty and sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years of “hard labor” in a Russian prison.

Experts cited by Fox News have warned against trading Bout in the exchange. Former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler explained, “Moscow wants him back because he possesses critical insights that he can share with the GRU, his former agency.”

“Having been in a U.S. prison and interrogated by U.S. officials, he knows what our intelligence requirements are and other information that is valuable for the Russians,” Koffler said. Koffler is also the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America.”

“It would be a big mistake for the U.S. to give up Viktor Bout, as much as one feels compassion for Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan.”

More on this story via Fox News:

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The Russian state-owned news agency TASS originally reported in May that talks are underway to exchange Bout for Griner.

Russian officials see Bout as a “high-value asset” and are likely pushing hard for the exchange, according to former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler.

“Moscow wants him back because he possesses critical insights that he can share with the GRU, his former agency. Having been in a U.S. prison and interrogated by U.S. officials, he knows what our intelligence requirements are and other information that is valuable for the Russians,” Koffler, the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told Fox News Digital.

“It would be a big mistake for the U.S. to give up Viktor Bout, as much as one feels compassion for Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan.”

The Biden administration confirmed Wednesday that it has made a “substantial proposal” to help free Griner and Whelan.

“The U.S. government continues to work aggressively, pursuing every avenue, to make that happen and as part of those efforts we made a substantial proposal to bring Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan home,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday.