'Are We Releasing Murderers, Killers, Or Thugs?' Trump Slams Biden Over Historic Russian Prisoner Swap

Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump wears a flesh-colored bandage on his ear as he holds a campaign rally for the first time with his running mate, Republican vice presidential nominee US Senator JD Vance (R-OH) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US. (Reuters/File Photo)

The deal involved 24 prisoners, including 16 moving from Russia to the West and eight prisoners held in the West being sent back to Russia

Donald Trump has launched a sharp attack against President Joe Biden over the US government’s handling of the historic prisoner swap that secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former marine Paul Whelan from Russian custody.

On Thursday, Russia freed Gershkovich and Whelan as part of the biggest prisoner exchange of its kind since the end of the Cold War. The White House said the US had negotiated the trade with Russia, Germany and three other countries.  Trump has accused Biden of mishandling the high-stakes negotiation and called for the release of additional details about the prisoner exchange.

‘Release the details’

The Republican presidential nominee, who said he did not have details of the swap, asked whether “murderers, killers, or thugs” were released. “So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Are they giving us cash (Please withdraw that question, because I’m sure the answer is NO)? Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps,” Trump wrote on his Truth social account.

The deal, negotiated in secrecy for more than a year, involved 24 prisoners, including 16 moving from Russia to the West and eight prisoners held in the West being sent back to Russia. Germany confirmed they included Vadim Krasikov, convicted of murdering an exiled dissident in Berlin. Biden hailed the deal as “a feat of diplomacy and friendship” and praised Washington’s allies for their “bold and brave decisions.”

“Our negotiators are always an embarrassment to us! I got back many hostages, and gave the opposing Country NOTHING – and never any cash. To do so is bad precedent for the future. That’s the way it should be, or this situation will get worse and worse. They are extorting the United States of America. They’re calling the trade complex – That’s so nobody can figure out how bad it is,” Trump added.

Putin Honours Returnees

Russian President Vladimir Putin met the prisoners returning to Russia at the airport after they landed in Moscow, and said they would be given state awards, while Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are due to greet those returning to the United States later on Thursday. “Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world,” Biden said at the White House, flanked by relatives of freed prisoners.

Biden said he owed a particular debt of gratitude to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who made the politically difficult choice to release Krasikov. The deal provides the Biden administration with a marquee diplomatic success as the U.S. presidential campaign, pitting Harris against former Republican President Donald Trump, enters its final months. Still, the multi-country deal appeared to be a one-time exchange that does not reset the antagonistic US-Russia relationship.

Critics

Critics said the freeing of Russians convicted of serious crimes could encourage more hostage-taking by US foes. Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Belarus were also involved in the deal. Turkey coordinated the exchange. The Kremlin said Moscow’s decision to pardon and free prisoners had been made to bring Russian captives home. “The decision to sign the (pardon) decrees was made with the aim of returning Russian citizens detained and imprisoned in foreign countries,” it said in a statement.

The last major exchange between the United States and Russia in 2010 involved 14 prisoners. The two countries had a high-profile exchange in December 2022, swapping U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, sentenced to nine years for vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, for arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence.

(With agency inputs)