She did get caught with illegal drugs, it’s not like this wasn’t a legal arrest, she just got the book thrown at her to create chaos in the US. Not like they targeted her to catch her, she was dumb enough to pull that on her own.
Plot twist, they send her back with the vape cartridges. She lands in Texas, they search her bag, and is immediately sentenced to double what the Russians had given her.
Can u imagine how the fbi/dea agents feel? Those guys worked their ass off to get this guy... Apparently it was extremely difficult to get this guy... One known photo of him his entire time selling weapons...
Look, I think that Brittney Griner has been punished very harshly for what is a minor offence. But this trade looks like a very bad deal -- releasing a very, very dangerous man.
This is the guy the movie “Lord of War” is based on. He is extremely dangerous and shows no remorse. It was so great to hear he had finally been imprisoned….And now we gave him back to Russia while they are literally at war with Ukraine, who we are supporting….for a basketball player who has bashed the USA more often than not and was stupid enough to bring drugs into Russia of all places. I hope her anti USA stuff stops now considering the cost of her freedom.
He was going to be released in five years though? And even they’ve said that no one will work with this person anymore since the big part of arms dealing is you know, secrecy? Hard to be a secret when Nicholas cage played you in a movie.
Bout served 14 years in prison, and was due to be released in 6 years on parole. He was sentenced to 25 years, not life. He would have been deported back to Russia anyway upon completion of his sentence, does it really matter that he basically got a 6-year sentence reduction in exchange for an American citizen being freed from a slave labor camp?
US basically just told the world that they can steal US citizens and threaten to torture them and they can get whatever prisoner they want in return, no matter how dangerous they are.
Naw, not any citizen. Paul Whelan, a former marine, has been locked up over there since 2018. Unfortunately, he doesn't fit in any virtue signal categories.
This is supposed to look bad, no way would the agents that worked so hard to secure Bout give him up without a meaningful return, Griner was the high profile name that was put on the sheet to keep everyone from asking questions about who the FBI/CIA agents that were exchanged for Bout were.
My cousin is currently in the same jail system as Britney was. In Russia. They got him for traveling with a gun. He is a private armed security. He had his hand gun locked, unloaded, packed disclosed and with all the correct paper works to travel with. He was only transferring flight at Moscow. Not actually going there.
The whole world is waiting for Russia to run out of missiles ... and they give them the world's leading clandestine missile dealer? I have some objections here.
The article talks about another american imprisoned for "spying" and said the US has tried to negotiate his release but the Kremlin wants a spy in return and basically it goes like this:
There are 3 others lmao. Just 3. There was a 5th including Griner, a U.S. Marine, who was also exchanged for a prisoner swap a few months ago. But Reddit didn’t really care about that one, because of who knows what reason?
Every other enemy of the USA are probably planning to start arresting minor celebrities to get all their people freed too. They're going to take so much advantage of this American celebrity worship.
No they sent her back to TX where Alex Caruso got arrested for having residue in a grinder, I’m sure he was wrongfully arrested for political purposes in that case too though.
This was my exact thought. The federal government just basically said that it’s fine. She better be in jail when she gets back to the US. If not the appeals courts are gonna have a bad time.
This is just going to make the public hate her when she gets back, and she will be heckled for the rest of her life. It is ridiculous, you wanted to smoke freakin weed and now a guy who is responsible for thousands of deaths is free as a direct consequence. It's like a cartoon honestly
Not sure it's going looked on all that favorably by the public tbh. "Famous Person who broke the rules" traded for an international arms dealer (nicknamed the Merchant of Death ffs), all while thousands of Americans sit in American jails for possession of a "Schedule 1 Narcotic" that is legal in 21 states and medicalized in 39. Lmao. It defies any and all logic.
This is the type of shit that shows the USA is past it. Going into this deal and saying yes... my god. Russia bent them over and then some. Trading a war criminal for a basketball player and no one else... I'd be fuming if I was an American in Russia, everyone there should have come home in exchange for Viktor Bout.
This was 100% a PR/political appearance decision and not a decision in the interest of protecting democratic values. In no world is a celebrity, let alone a B-lister, worth giving up a known arms dealer and terrorist. This is so incredibly short sighted. But it’s exactly what Russia was betting on. We care more about appearance than results.
That's ridiculous. They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt people would crucify them for this decision. It's insane to suggest someone thought this would score political points. Everyone has to know it would be the exact opposite.
Except no one liked this except her family and small amount of supporters I guarantee Biden will get blasted by both democrats and Republicans till election day 2024.
How exactly is this going to generate "good PR" for the White House? So far I've seen nothing but outrage over how bad of a trade this was. I won't be surprised if hypocritical Republicans use this as a talking point to bash the Democrat's foreign policy all the way up to the 2024 elections.
I agree with this, however I can’t help but think that the next step Russia was going to pull was going to be one that would not sit well with the American people no matter how we feel about it now. Like if they recorded her being executed or tortured I feel like that would change the narrative against the White House, or at least create enough of a divide in the public to make it an issue. Just what a terrible situation
Even if the arms dealer was set to be released in the next few years anyway? He wasn’t serving a life sentence, why not at least get someone wrongfully detained before we have to let him go anyway? Really can’t understand how angry this makes people.
Imagine being Paul Whelan, sentenced to 16 years in Russia in 2020 for spying but seemingly being pushed down the prisoner swap pecking order by Griner.
I don't know the details but Wikipedia cites reputable sources stating that Whelan boasted about having intimate contact with Russian FSB agents, smuggled money into Russia, was dishonorably discharged from the US military and lied about his academic credentials. If he was a spy, he was probably the worst spy, and it seems unlikely the Russians would really believe him to be a spy. On the other hand, why else would they apprehend somebody who is clearly not a good candidate for a prisoner swap?
Have you ever considered that Pual Whelan was really a spy? Maybe that's why they don't want to release him. If Whelan was just some ordinary guy framed then they would have easily traded him for the arms merchant.
The article talks about Whelan. Apparently Russia wants a spy in exchange but the US claims it doesn't have any spies in its custody and Russia isn't willing to name names.
Can not believe this is true. Russia will probably start imprisoning more foreigners now, particularly U.S citizens - hell why not, clearly the U.S. is willing to trade anyone to get them back.
There should, ideally, be fewer opportunities. The State Department currently has Russia as it's strongest Travel Advisory Level (Do Not Travel), and I'd like to see remain that way until Russia has a real representative government/forever.
This is bullshit, I’m sorry but Griner was an fucking moron for thinking you can travel anywhere with cannabis and think your someone above the law and special. Ignorance of the law isn’t an excuse especially when you go to a country as strict as Russia. Then you got this arms dealer nut who needed to be behind bars. The whole situation is bullshit, if this would of been someone else the US wouldn’t give two shits about them. The only thing this will give Russia is another excuse to nabbed Americans and hold them hostage to get what they want.
Even if one accepted her excuse (hasty / careless packing), it's still incredibly stupid. Travelling to somewhere like Canada or the UK? OK, sure. Not great but they're friendly countries and shit happens. Travelling to somewhere like Russia? No. They're extremely unfriendly and known for harsh punishments for even minor offences.
Biden pardon those arrested for cannabis possession on a federal level. Those still in prison is because the state sent them there. It’s up to the state to do that
It’s not like we’re getting back some national hero, we’re getting back a pot smoking basketball player that thinks she’s exempt from the rules. Innocent people are going to die because of this decision.
This trade seems so lopsided that I wonder if some other concession wasn't also given by the Russians. Something neither side wanted to disclose etc. It's a real head-scratcher
Unpopular opinion but I think the valuation is closer than people think because Bout is basically "harmless" to the US itself. His case is more about "justice" and him paying for his crimes. Its naive to think that his share of the illicit gun supplying/trafficking market just disappeared and wasnt just immediately replaced by someone else, or that he's gonna just open up a business tomorrow running guns again. He spent 15 years in prison and likely has more enemies than contacts or resources. Also, he is up for release in 2029, its not like he was sentenced to life. So the US likely did not perceive him as an actual threat, but as a political asset with waning value, and believed that Griner's freedom was worth serving justice on Bout.
I mean if they wanted to arrest her they could just say she had drugs and arrest her and there’s nothing she could do about it whether she did or not. You just shouldn’t travel to Russia period, it hasn’t been safe to go there as a western person for a long while and certainly wont be anytime in the near future.
You’re fucking with me, right? They’re… Omg they’re trading a basketball player for one of the most prolific warlords in the world that likely will help Russian interests. What the fuck.
Putin finally got a win here. And I’m not even anti Biden but this is a horrible trade. An America hating basketball player (dumb enough to do what she did as minor as it is) for the “Lord of War” guy?
America is weak as fuck. Traded a dangerous man who will kill people for a knuckle headed ball dribbler. Didn’t even try and trade for the god damn US Marine in prison. Insane
Nice trade Biden, two murders for a pot head! What happened to the Marine that is being held? F that guy cause he can’t get Biden any headlines. Come on man, enough of this malarkey.
If nothing else, this disaster has united America's left and right in decrying the preferential treatment the elite recieve in a way I haven't seen in years.
The "Merchant of Death," who was the number 2 most wanted person in the world behind Osama Bin Laden was just released. A lot of innocent people will likely die so that one person could walk free.
Straight up if that was me and I heard who they traded for I would have told them put me back in the cell and re-negotiate the deal, but then again she's a selfish ass so....
Paul Whelan won't be released because he is a convicted spy. The Russians refused to trade for him, probably because they want to swap him for one of their own spies.
Trading an arms dealer for a sports ball player is definitely not about "caring for US citizens". The obvious retort: if we care about US citizens, why can smoking weed make you fail a drug test in a state where the drug is legal, making you lose your job and insurance? Why is it illegal at all if citizens are such high priority? Or is it that corporations dictate what laws pass and we continue to fail to see action so blatantly because the pricks in charge couldn't give less than a single fuck if you know they're fucking you over for profit every single day
Why this is such a monumental fuck up? Because one of the reasons why Russia is having a hard time is all the sanctions that are placed on them they have issues buying/stockpiling weapons. It’s why they want this guy, an arms dealer can get around the sanctions and get them what they need. This trade will directly fuck Ukraine and whoever else down the road.
Remember in the movie Air Force One when the President, his family, half the cabinet, and countless staffers and media members were taken captive by Russian terrorists? And then the VP and other cabinet members grappled over whether they should trade 1 Russian terrorist for all of them. If they thought that was a bad trade.....how would they feel about this one?
There’s going to be a flurry of interviews, book deals, a biopic and endless harassment from both sides of the spectrum. They’re gonna shove this in our faces for years. Fuck.
She was traded for Nicolas Cage's character in Lord of War.
That nickname sounded strangely close to the movie to me. Turns out it was the very same person it was based on.
It isn't a movie I want to watch more than once or twice, but I did like that movie quite a bit.
This was a strategic move by Russia for two reasons.
We got fleeced.
Such an underrated movie. There is a line Cage says at the end,
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Gotta make sure they're semi famous first. They don't care if people don't know who they are
She did get caught with illegal drugs, it’s not like this wasn’t a legal arrest, she just got the book thrown at her to create chaos in the US. Not like they targeted her to catch her, she was dumb enough to pull that on her own.
Plot twist, they send her back with the vape cartridges. She lands in Texas, they search her bag, and is immediately sentenced to double what the Russians had given her.
Lmfao
This.
Can u imagine how the fbi/dea agents feel? Those guys worked their ass off to get this guy... Apparently it was extremely difficult to get this guy... One known photo of him his entire time selling weapons...
Could you imagine how the family of other Americans who were detained on similar charges in
Then gave him away for a basketball player.... I can feel the rage in those agents.
Look, I think that Brittney Griner has been punished very harshly for what is a minor offence. But this trade looks like a very bad deal -- releasing a very, very dangerous man.
Question: why does Russia want him back?
What kind of idiot brings weed into Russia? I wouldnt even travel in the states with it.
Lord of war was a good movie though
This is the guy the movie “Lord of War” is based on. He is extremely dangerous and shows no remorse. It was so great to hear he had finally been imprisoned….And now we gave him back to Russia while they are literally at war with Ukraine, who we are supporting….for a basketball player who has bashed the USA more often than not and was stupid enough to bring drugs into Russia of all places. I hope her anti USA stuff stops now considering the cost of her freedom.
He was going to be released in five years though? And even they’ve said that no one will work with this person anymore since the big part of arms dealing is you know, secrecy? Hard to be a secret when Nicholas cage played you in a movie.
Bout served 14 years in prison, and was due to be released in 6 years on parole. He was sentenced to 25 years, not life. He would have been deported back to Russia anyway upon completion of his sentence, does it really matter that he basically got a 6-year sentence reduction in exchange for an American citizen being freed from a slave labor camp?
A WNBA player for the merchant of death? Fucking horrible decision
US basically just told the world that they can steal US citizens and threaten to torture them and they can get whatever prisoner they want in return, no matter how dangerous they are.
Whatever happened with "we don't negotiate with terrorists"?
Naw, not any citizen. Paul Whelan, a former marine, has been locked up over there since 2018. Unfortunately, he doesn't fit in any virtue signal categories.
The citizen has to be rich and famous.
Fucking idiots.
The guy who nic cage played in lord of war??
You have to be kidding me.
That’s a terrible trade
And we couldn’t even get Whelan back as well? Awful awful trade.
Correct. "The Merchant of Death".
I am more familiar with Viktor Bout than Brittney Griner. And I only know her name because she got arrested in Russia.
Not worth it
Also doesn’t include we left Whelan in Russian custody. This is fucking stupid.
I have to congratulate President Biden. He managed to get virtually everyone to agree on something - that this is an insanely bad trade.
He is strategic to wait until after mud terms to do this though.
This is supposed to look bad, no way would the agents that worked so hard to secure Bout give him up without a meaningful return, Griner was the high profile name that was put on the sheet to keep everyone from asking questions about who the FBI/CIA agents that were exchanged for Bout were.
"Don't underestimate Joe's ability to fuck things up."
this is the best trade we could get, why do you think it took a year? Arms dealer was going to be up for parole soon anyhow
Worst trade in WNBA history
She went there to make money and she is trade for an arms dealer…makes no sense.
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I’m happy for Griner, but think that for an illegal arms trader, we should have gotten Paul Whelan too.
This is kind of bullshit. What about the other Americans in their jail for bullshit ?
My cousin is currently in the same jail system as Britney was. In Russia. They got him for traveling with a gun. He is a private armed security. He had his hand gun locked, unloaded, packed disclosed and with all the correct paper works to travel with. He was only transferring flight at Moscow. Not actually going there.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/sister-of-american-detained-in-russia-discusses-his-exclusion-from-proposed-prisoner-swap
you and me would rot in the gulag, but a celebrity gets hot swapped for an arms dealer...
Or the other Americans in American jail for possession bullshit?
The whole world is waiting for Russia to run out of missiles ... and they give them the world's leading clandestine missile dealer? I have some objections here.
The article talks about another american imprisoned for "spying" and said the US has tried to negotiate his release but the Kremlin wants a spy in return and basically it goes like this:
It's total bullshit, other guy has been over there for 4 years
There are 3 others lmao. Just 3. There was a 5th including Griner, a U.S. Marine, who was also exchanged for a prisoner swap a few months ago. But Reddit didn’t really care about that one, because of who knows what reason?
Glad she was so important that we freed The Merchant of Death /s.
Every other enemy of the USA are probably planning to start arresting minor celebrities to get all their people freed too. They're going to take so much advantage of this American celebrity worship.
So we legalized cannabis in the US this morning right?
No they sent her back to TX where Alex Caruso got arrested for having residue in a grinder, I’m sure he was wrongfully arrested for political purposes in that case too though.
This was my exact thought. The federal government just basically said that it’s fine. She better be in jail when she gets back to the US. If not the appeals courts are gonna have a bad time.
This has to be the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever.
I immediately thought about him saying that.
This is just going to make the public hate her when she gets back, and she will be heckled for the rest of her life. It is ridiculous, you wanted to smoke freakin weed and now a guy who is responsible for thousands of deaths is free as a direct consequence. It's like a cartoon honestly
I guarantee you she’d rather have people heckle her in the US than be in a Russian penal colony for the next 9 years
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And make tons of money while doing it
This administration better hope this arms dealer isn’t connected to the death of any Americans in the future.
Not sure it's going looked on all that favorably by the public tbh. "Famous Person who broke the rules" traded for an international arms dealer (nicknamed the Merchant of Death ffs), all while thousands of Americans sit in American jails for possession of a "Schedule 1 Narcotic" that is legal in 21 states and medicalized in 39. Lmao. It defies any and all logic.
Nice, a notorious arms dealer for a C-list celebrity who is also a domestic abuser
I totally disagree. She’s D-list at best.
She is a wnba player, C list is way too high.
Funny how this was locked under news because it didn’t get the sympathetic response I’m sure they were looking for.
This is the type of shit that shows the USA is past it. Going into this deal and saying yes... my god. Russia bent them over and then some. Trading a war criminal for a basketball player and no one else... I'd be fuming if I was an American in Russia, everyone there should have come home in exchange for Viktor Bout.
The first time Republicans and Democrats have united for a common cause
This was 100% a PR/political appearance decision and not a decision in the interest of protecting democratic values. In no world is a celebrity, let alone a B-lister, worth giving up a known arms dealer and terrorist. This is so incredibly short sighted. But it’s exactly what Russia was betting on. We care more about appearance than results.
Calling Griner a B-lister is extremely generous. She’s more like an F-lister
That's ridiculous. They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt people would crucify them for this decision. It's insane to suggest someone thought this would score political points. Everyone has to know it would be the exact opposite.
Except no one liked this except her family and small amount of supporters I guarantee Biden will get blasted by both democrats and Republicans till election day 2024.
How exactly is this going to generate "good PR" for the White House? So far I've seen nothing but outrage over how bad of a trade this was. I won't be surprised if hypocritical Republicans use this as a talking point to bash the Democrat's foreign policy all the way up to the 2024 elections.
I agree with this, however I can’t help but think that the next step Russia was going to pull was going to be one that would not sit well with the American people no matter how we feel about it now. Like if they recorded her being executed or tortured I feel like that would change the narrative against the White House, or at least create enough of a divide in the public to make it an issue. Just what a terrible situation
Even if the arms dealer was set to be released in the next few years anyway? He wasn’t serving a life sentence, why not at least get someone wrongfully detained before we have to let him go anyway? Really can’t understand how angry this makes people.
If a single American soldier dies bc of this trade we should send her back
This just looks like such an embarrassingly bad deal.
Imagine being Paul Whelan, sentenced to 16 years in Russia in 2020 for spying but seemingly being pushed down the prisoner swap pecking order by Griner.
I don't know the details but Wikipedia cites reputable sources stating that Whelan boasted about having intimate contact with Russian FSB agents, smuggled money into Russia, was dishonorably discharged from the US military and lied about his academic credentials. If he was a spy, he was probably the worst spy, and it seems unlikely the Russians would really believe him to be a spy. On the other hand, why else would they apprehend somebody who is clearly not a good candidate for a prisoner swap?
Imagine reading
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Have you ever considered that Pual Whelan was really a spy? Maybe that's why they don't want to release him. If Whelan was just some ordinary guy framed then they would have easily traded him for the arms merchant.
I don't think Russia would let him go, because espionage.
The article talks about Whelan. Apparently Russia wants a spy in exchange but the US claims it doesn't have any spies in its custody and Russia isn't willing to name names.
Bet she’s on Dancing with the Stars next season
She'll have a Netflix documentary too. One that I can confidentially say I'll never watch, no matter how bored and out of shows I am.
Can not believe this is true. Russia will probably start imprisoning more foreigners now, particularly U.S citizens - hell why not, clearly the U.S. is willing to trade anyone to get them back.
There should, ideally, be fewer opportunities. The State Department currently has Russia as it's strongest Travel Advisory Level (Do Not Travel), and I'd like to see remain that way until Russia has a real representative government/forever.
This is bullshit, I’m sorry but Griner was an fucking moron for thinking you can travel anywhere with cannabis and think your someone above the law and special. Ignorance of the law isn’t an excuse especially when you go to a country as strict as Russia. Then you got this arms dealer nut who needed to be behind bars. The whole situation is bullshit, if this would of been someone else the US wouldn’t give two shits about them. The only thing this will give Russia is another excuse to nabbed Americans and hold them hostage to get what they want.
Even if one accepted her excuse (hasty / careless packing), it's still incredibly stupid. Travelling to somewhere like Canada or the UK? OK, sure. Not great but they're friendly countries and shit happens. Travelling to somewhere like Russia? No. They're extremely unfriendly and known for harsh punishments for even minor offences.
Why is Griner important to America? She traveled to a foreign country, broke their laws and was tried.
The Biden admin got played by Russia. An arms dealer for a basketball player. Yeah, that’s a fair deal.
Yea but she’s black, gay and a woman.
If only Biden cared about rail workers as much as Brittney Griner.
Basicaly he traded an international arms dealer for the Black/Woman/LGBT+ vote. She had the trifecta. That's the reality of it.
He has all the privilege tho, so I’m sure it’ll work out.
Cool, now trade someone else for my friend sitting in prison in America for the same fucking thing.
Biden pardon those arrested for cannabis possession on a federal level. Those still in prison is because the state sent them there. It’s up to the state to do that
There are people literally rotting in prison for the same crime in the united states. This is ridiculously stupid and sets an awful precedent.
No wonder Biden waited until a few weeks after the midterms to do this. This deal is horrific.
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Russians must be laughing their heads off right now. How are Americans always so stupid?
I think Russians are hiding so they don’t get a windbreaker, a slingshot, a rotten apple, and a one way ticket to Donetsk.
A bit ironic considering how Russias invasion of Ukraine is going…
It’s not like we’re getting back some national hero, we’re getting back a pot smoking basketball player that thinks she’s exempt from the rules. Innocent people are going to die because of this decision.
This trade seems so lopsided that I wonder if some other concession wasn't also given by the Russians. Something neither side wanted to disclose etc. It's a real head-scratcher
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Unpopular opinion but I think the valuation is closer than people think because Bout is basically "harmless" to the US itself. His case is more about "justice" and him paying for his crimes. Its naive to think that his share of the illicit gun supplying/trafficking market just disappeared and wasnt just immediately replaced by someone else, or that he's gonna just open up a business tomorrow running guns again. He spent 15 years in prison and likely has more enemies than contacts or resources. Also, he is up for release in 2029, its not like he was sentenced to life. So the US likely did not perceive him as an actual threat, but as a political asset with waning value, and believed that Griner's freedom was worth serving justice on Bout.
I doubt it.
Not worth it
The NBA subsidizes the WNBA with money, the WNBA subsidizes the Russians with Russian Arms Dealers.
We should have gave them Nicholas Cage. They never would have known.
This trade is so bad, it makes me sick to my stomach.
Sorry but no. Like honesty take 2 min to make sure you ain’t bringing drugs into a shithole country that hates America.
I mean if they wanted to arrest her they could just say she had drugs and arrest her and there’s nothing she could do about it whether she did or not. You just shouldn’t travel to Russia period, it hasn’t been safe to go there as a western person for a long while and certainly wont be anytime in the near future.
Actually, a joke.. shes a FUCKING DOMESTIC ABUSER
Yeah but she’s a black gay woman!
Possibly will go down as one of the worst negotiations in US history. What a disaster all for a PR bite because she’s famous.
She’s not even famous lmao. She was a nobody until this whole mess. Still is a nobody
This has been the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever
Didn't even get those 2 Lakers 1st round picks in the deal.
"We dont negotiate with terrorists"....unless....
I hate to tell you, but Hollywood doesn't set US foreign policy. We absolutely negotiate with terrorists.
That was in fact something someone in a fictional movie said. Good memory.
…..you are a celeb of color backed by other A-list celebs of color that will send the woke mob after you if you don’t do what they say.
Yo Wtf, We just let a terrorist walk for a entitled pothead.
She’s gonna be treated like some kind of hero and make a bunch of money from telling her story.
And she will still hate America. When is the parade?
So we traded a sub-par WNBA player that has domestic abuse under her belt for one of the most lethal arms dealers in history.
Big L
Joe Biden: I wonder how I can fuck things up this week?
The dumbest decision the U.S has done this year 🤦♂️
You’re fucking with me, right? They’re… Omg they’re trading a basketball player for one of the most prolific warlords in the world that likely will help Russian interests. What the fuck.
If this was anyone else they would have rotted in Russian prison ….
I’m sure the WNBAs fan is happy.
Good job Biden administration. This should reflect well in 2024… you morons
A dude called "The merchant of death" for a nobody...
Putin finally got a win here. And I’m not even anti Biden but this is a horrible trade. An America hating basketball player (dumb enough to do what she did as minor as it is) for the “Lord of War” guy?
So we’re freeing all those people in America did the same shit right? Or does she get special rights cause she plays in a sport nobody watches?
Oh and Homegirl beats her wife so, again, why tf did we care about her situation at all?
America is weak as fuck. Traded a dangerous man who will kill people for a knuckle headed ball dribbler. Didn’t even try and trade for the god damn US Marine in prison. Insane
Nice trade Biden, two murders for a pot head! What happened to the Marine that is being held? F that guy cause he can’t get Biden any headlines. Come on man, enough of this malarkey.
one brought a vape, the other sold weapons that killed American soldiers. this is the stupidest 1:1 trade of all time
Swapping a no name basketball player, an abusive one at that, for a notorious arms dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death".
Just remember we've left Paul Whelen, a 52-year-old former U.S. Marine, in Russia since 2018. How's that for supporting our troops?
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Biden has no right to talk about gun control at this point
If this isn't enough to convince people of Biden's ineptitude, then nothing is.
Un F-ing Believable!
She’s gonna go home and immediately light a fat joint to reflect on the past year.
If nothing else, this disaster has united America's left and right in decrying the preferential treatment the elite recieve in a way I haven't seen in years.
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The "Merchant of Death," who was the number 2 most wanted person in the world behind Osama Bin Laden was just released. A lot of innocent people will likely die so that one person could walk free.
Our country is a joke.
Straight up if that was me and I heard who they traded for I would have told them put me back in the cell and re-negotiate the deal, but then again she's a selfish ass so....
I’m not saying put her back in jail but this was the worst trade ever
What a terrible trade
What in the actual flying fuck
Easy for me to say but they should not have done this swap. It was her own fault in the first place.
Whelan? Screw him. He can't hit the fadeaway jumper to save his life... But Griner? Now THAT'S someone we need back!
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Paul Whelan won't be released because he is a convicted spy. The Russians refused to trade for him, probably because they want to swap him for one of their own spies.
Whelan was dishonorably discharged for stealing $10,000
Paul Whelan is a piece of shit, fuck that noise
Trading an arms dealer for a sports ball player is definitely not about "caring for US citizens". The obvious retort: if we care about US citizens, why can smoking weed make you fail a drug test in a state where the drug is legal, making you lose your job and insurance? Why is it illegal at all if citizens are such high priority? Or is it that corporations dictate what laws pass and we continue to fail to see action so blatantly because the pricks in charge couldn't give less than a single fuck if you know they're fucking you over for profit every single day
Why this is such a monumental fuck up? Because one of the reasons why Russia is having a hard time is all the sanctions that are placed on them they have issues buying/stockpiling weapons. It’s why they want this guy, an arms dealer can get around the sanctions and get them what they need. This trade will directly fuck Ukraine and whoever else down the road.
Yeah, Russia has no idea how to get weapons without this guy…lol
Russia has issues with advanced modern weapons. Bout was selling AKs and Soviet era missiles from Russian stockpiles
If I were Zelensky, id be ripping a new asshole in Biden right now.
That’s this weekend at the yearly world leader orgy
Imagine being the world's most notorious arms dealer and getting released from prison because a WNBA player vaped some THC
Welp. As a fellow marijuana enthusiast, she better fucking quit. Probably the BIGGEST fuck up in bringing weed somewhere.
[удалено]
"Worst deal in history, maybe ever." to borrow from the Cheeto Menace
So while Russia is actively invading a country, we trade them one of their arms dealers for a stoner who can throw a ball?
What a waste of resources, arms dealer for a nobody basketball player. Keeping the world safe I see
Yes seems like a fair trade. A arms dealer for a WNBA “star”…….
Bad trade. We could survive without Griner until the 2024 Olympics.
Remember in the movie Air Force One when the President, his family, half the cabinet, and countless staffers and media members were taken captive by Russian terrorists? And then the VP and other cabinet members grappled over whether they should trade 1 Russian terrorist for all of them. If they thought that was a bad trade.....how would they feel about this one?
Wow it’s almost like she’s been dealt the cards of a privileged individual
Send her back. Not a fair trade.
This is the first time people have been aware of a WNBA trade. Progressive...
There’s going to be a flurry of interviews, book deals, a biopic and endless harassment from both sides of the spectrum. They’re gonna shove this in our faces for years. Fuck.
Get the basketball player out and leave the Marine behind THIS ADMINISTRATION IS A FUKING JOKE
Will she have to go through airport security on our way back? If so what are the odds she doesn’t check her bags before