ex-president Donald Trump doesn’t think trading the arms dealer being labeled the “Merchant of Death” in exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner is a “very good trade.”
Speaking on Saturday on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show,” Trump said of Griner, “She knew you wouldn’t go in there full of drugs, and she admitted it.”
He continued, “I suppose she admitted it without too much violence, because it is what it is, and it certainly doesn’t seem like such a good profession, does it?”
Trump turned to the Merchant of Death, aka arms dealer Viktor Bout, saying, “He is definitely one of the worst in the world, and he will get his freedom because a potentially spoiled person enters Russia full of drugs.”
Trump also described Bout as receiving a “free card” as a result of the potential trade.
Trump continued: “She went there laden with drugs to a hostile territory where they are very vigilant about drugs.
“They don’t like drugs. And she got caught. And now we have to get her out – and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I think. We need to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the largest arms dealers in the world. Many Americans killed. A lot of people killed,” the former president continued.
Trump described arms dealer Viktor Bout as ‘absolutely one of the worst in the world’
Trump said of Griner’s arrest, “They don’t like drugs. And she got caught. And now we have to get her out – and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I think. We need to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the largest arms dealers in the world. Many Americans killed. Many people killed.’
It has been widely reported that the Russian government wanted the US to release Viktor Bout in exchange for civilians Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.
Griner was arrested at Moscow airport in February after vapes containing hash oil were found in her luggage. The Olympic gold medalist has pleaded guilty to the crime. She faces 10 years in prison.
Whelan, an Iraq war veteran who had enlisted in the Marine Corps, was arrested in Russia in 2018 and accused of being a spy. The former police officer and sheriff’s deputy was in the country to attend the wedding of a fellow Marine veteran.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison, including time in a labor camp.
While Bout was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to murder American citizens. He is currently serving 25 years in prison.
Russian officials have not said how many vape cartridges containing hash oil Griner is accused of smuggling into Russia.
Her lawyers claim she has a prescription for the drug and that she accidentally took it in her luggage.
Hash oil has a high level of THC, the active psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
The day before Trump’s comments, comedian Bill Maher joked on his HBO show that if the former president is indicted by the Justice Department for his role in the January 6 Capitol uprising, “We’ll put Trump in jail and trade him.” then to Russia for Brittney Griner.’
Russian citizen Viktor Bout was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to murder American citizens. He is currently in prison for 25 years
Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed the former student host’s sentiments in an interview with: Fox news this week.
Pompeo said, “He’s a bad guy. He’s a man who wanted to kill Americans. It poses a real risk to the United States. There’s a real reason the Russians want him home. Offering such trade is a dangerous precedent.”
He continued, “This is not a good trade, not the right way forward, and it will probably lead to more.”
One of Trump’s biggest media supporters, conservative instigator Tomi Lahren, agrees with Pompeo.
She tweeted this week: ‘Wait a minute, we’re trading a Russian arms dealer, the so-called ‘Merchant of Death’ for Brittney Griner?! This is Bowe Bergdahl all over again. RIDICULOUS!’
Ohio GOP Congressman Jim Jordan tweeted in June: “Everyone knows that President Trump is said to have negotiated the release of Brittney Griner by now.”
This was mocked by US citizen Trevor Reed, who was released by the Russian government in April 2022. Reed replied to Jordan’s tweet, “Yeah, big thanks to President Trump for getting myself and Paul Whelan out. Not.’
The Republican Judiciary Committee’s official Twitter account retweeted an article in which Griner’s coach Vanessa Nygaard said, “If it was LeBron, he’d be home, right?”
The commission’s Twitter account wrote in the retweet, “If this was Trump, she’d be home.” Rep. Jordan is the highest-ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.
The Kremlin reportedly wants to add another killer to the deal that would grant freedom to Griner and Whelan.
According to a new report from CNN the Russians also want convicted FSB agent and hit man Vadim Krasikov thrown into the deal.
In 2019, Krasikov murdered Chechen spy Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in broad daylight in a public park in Berlin, Germany.
Krasikov was sentenced to life in prison in Germany last December.
The CNN report notes that because this request was made through an informal channel, US officials do not “consider it a legitimate counter-offer” for Griner and Whelan’s freedom.
A German government source confirmed to CNN that US officials have reached out to their colleagues in Berlin to discuss the possibility of releasing Krasikov.
This report has not been confirmed by the State Department with a spokesperson told CNN: “In order to maintain the best chance of a successful outcome, we are not going to comment publicly on speculation.”
‘The Merchant of Death:’ Who is Viktor Bout?
Viktor Bout, gesturing as he leaves the criminal court, in Bangkok, Thailand, August 11, 2009
Viktor Bout, 54, has been imprisoned in the US since 2012 when he was convicted on charges of supplying weapons to a designated State Department terrorist group.
Around the time of Brittney Griner’s hearing in May, Russia’s state news agency TASS began reporting that officials wanted to trade Griner for Bout.
In November 2011, Bout was convicted by a US federal court for distributing weapons to a terrorist organization designated by the State Department, namely the FARC in Colombia. He was convicted in April 2012.
Bout was found guilty of supplying 100 surface-to-air missiles to the group. He was first arrested in Thailand in 2008 and later extradited to the US.
As a result, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The May TASS report called Bout a “businessman.” A source told the agency: “Currently, talks are underway to trade Bout for Griner.”
Bolt is held at USP Marion in Marion, Illinois.
Since his incarceration, Bout has been linked to prisoner exchanges for American citizens such as Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan.
Whelan’s brother told the guard in May, Russian officials told him they hoped to trade Whelan for Bout.
Bout was the inspiration for Nicholas Cage’s character in the 2005 film ‘Lord of War’
Bout was the inspiration for Nicholas Cage’s character in the 2005 film ‘Lord of War’.
According to an ScreenRant In the film, Bout was also nicknamed “Sanction Buster” because he used his air freight company Air Cess to circumvent international law.
The article adds that the film was approved by Amnesty International after its release for its accurate portrayal of the lucrative international arms trade.
The piece goes on to say that Bout’s supporters view him as an environmentalist deeply concerned with rainforest conservation.
In addition to his activities in Colombia, Bout is accused of selling weapons to groups such as Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and disgraced former Liberian President Charles Taylor.
Bout’s wife, Alla, showed a collection of her husband’s paintings in Moscow in December 2021, reports The Art Newspaper.
Alla told the outlet that her husband was suffering from a serious infectious disease and that he had not been given proper medical care.
Bout has a child with his wife.
Alla said of her husband’s artwork: ‘The exhibition proves that my husband has not lost heart and is still creative. His art is the only way he can communicate with the outside world.’
A former US intelligence officer, Rebekah Koffer, warned that Bout’s release could set a dangerous precedent
Trevor Reed endorsed the idea of swapping Bout for Griner or Whelan in an interview with Good Morning America, saying, “I don’t care if it’s 100 Viktor Bouts. They have to get our boys out.’
A former US intelligence officer, Rebekah Koffer, warned that Bout’s release could set a dangerous precedent Fox news.
Koffer argued that any exchange involving Bout would only trick Putin into kidnapping other Americans in the hopes that he could trade them for Russian assets.
Prior to his conviction, a 2010 News week position suggested he had ties to senior Russian officials.
After his arrest, the Russian government described Bout’s case as “political”.