Paul Whelans’ brother slams Trump after prisoner swap criticism

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The brother of former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned in Russia for nearly four years, slammed former President Trump on Friday after Trump slammed the Biden administration for the deal he struck to release the WNBA star Brittney Griner but not Whelan.

David Whelan said in a Twitter post that Trump appears to have mentioned his brothers’ wrongful detention more in the past 24 hours than he has in the two years of his presidency in which Whelan was imprisoned.

I’m not suggesting he cares more now than he did then (zero), he said.

The United States secured Griners’ release on Thursday after she had been detained in Russia since February for having vape cartridges with hash oil on her while in the country. Griner was traded for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had served 10 years of a 25-year sentence for conspiracy to kill US citizens, supporting a designated terrorist organization and other charges.

Critics of the deal said Russia got better terms to pick up an arms dealer, while the United States got Griner but not Whelan.

Trump went further, saying on Truth Social that Griner openly hates our country and suggesting that Whelan should have been released instead.

Whelan was charged with spying for the United States and arrested for espionage in 2018. He was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

What a stupid and unpatriotic embarrassment for the United States! Trump wrote.

Griner has spoken about some social issues before, telling the 2020 Arizona Republic that she doesn’t think the national anthem should be played before WNBA games. She said she meant no disrespect to the country, noting that her father served in the Vietnam War and was in law enforcement and that she was proud of her country.

Trump has previously criticized athletes who have spoken out on issues of racial justice and police brutality, including former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Biden claimed the Russians were treating Whelans’ case differently from Griners and were unwilling to include him in the deal, but US officials are continuing to work to release him.

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