Former Trump National Security Council official Fiona Hill told CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan that then-President Donald Trump “was not particularly interested” in getting Paul Whelan released from Russian prison — a subject he’s now slamming Biden over.

Trump ripped the news of Griner’s release in a prisoner exchange for convicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout, also known as the “merchant of death.”

But he also slammed the Biden administration over Whelan’s continued detention., writing “Why wasn’t former Marine Paul Whelan included in this totally one-sided transaction? He would have been let out for the asking.”

On Sunday’s edition of Face the Nation on CBS, Brennan hosted Hill and to discuss the news of Griner’s release, and Hill confirmed what others have said — the Trump administration turned down a trade for Whelan, and Trump himself was “not interested” in Whelan’s case:

ARGARET BRENNAN: Your former colleague, John Bolton, a former boss right on the National Security Council, told one of my colleagues at CBS that the possibility of a Bout for Weyland trade existed back then, and it wasn’t made for very good reasons. Having to deal with Viktor Bout, do you recall a potential prisoner swap with Russia?

FIONA HILL: Yes, I do recall that that was raised many times by the Russians that they wanted Viktor Bout. And at the time, there was also the drug smuggler, Yaroshenko, who was ultimately swapped for Trevor Reed, the other former Marine. They were put on the table by the Russians, making it very clear that they had every intent of trying to swap Americans that have been wrongfully detained for individuals in the United States custody who were there for pretty good reasons.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you see something particularly dangerous about Viktor Bout? I mean, why was that swap turned down then? But it happened just this past week.

FIONA HILL: Well, look, at the particular time. I also have to say here that President Trump wasn’t especially interested in engaging in that swap for also Paul Whelan. He was not particularly interested in Paul’s case in the way that one would have thought he would be.

Ambassador Bolton met with Elizabeth Whelan, Paul’s sister. I was at that meeting as well. There was a lot of attention being paid to this and trying to find ways of arranging Paul’s release by all different parts of the US government.

But of course was a big debate about Viktor Bout himself, and as we see now as well the absurdity of the Russians asking for the release of a notorious arms dealer, as well as somebody who had been convicted of large scale narcotics smuggling, in return for American citizens who had been either set up in the case of Paul Whelan and later imprisoned, in the case of travel agent Brittney Griner for very minor infractions that would have been handled differently in different cases.

It was clear that the Russians were looking to kind of set the United States up as well for just the kinds of things that we’re seeing now in terms of the roiling of our domestic politics, as Chairman Schiff talked about later. So this is all part of a political game for the Russian government.

Watch above via Face the Nation on CBS.

The post Ex-Trump Official Says Trump ‘Was Not Particularly Interested In Paul Whelan’s Case’ — Which He Now Rips Biden Over first appeared on Mediaite.

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