WASHINGTON — For the second time this year, the family of Michigan's Paul Whelan was left "devastated" that Russia agreed to swap an American prisoner for the return of a Russian inmate, and that, again, that American wasn't Paul.
"It's disappointing. We were aware that there was a 50-50 chance, and, unfortunately, it broke that way," Whelan's brother, David, told The Detroit News.
Paul Whelan, 52, of Novi has been held by Russia for nearly four years since his arrest at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 and later convicted on espionage charges that he's vehemently denied, claiming entrapment. The U.S. government deemed his detention "wrongful" and has pressed for his release from a 16-year sentence of hard labor.
But instead of Whelan's release Thursday, the Biden administration announced that basketball star Brittney Griner had been freed by Russia and was later traded on an airport tarmac in Abu Dhabi for convicted Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout, who had served 12 years of a 25-year sentence in U.S. prison.
The Kremlin previously agreed to a separate prisoner swap in the spring, leading to the release of another American, Trevor Reed, who, like Whelan, is a former U.S. Marine who had traveled to Russia as a tourist.
"I am so glad that Brittney Griner is on her way home. As the family member of a Russian hostage, I can literally only imagine the joy she will have, being reunited with her loved ones, and in time for the holidays," David Whelan said.
"The Biden administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen."
But when will that deal happen for Whelan, David asked. Especially now that the U.S. government has given up the two prisoners that Russia most wanted to be returned — Bout and pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was traded for Reed.
“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan,” President Joe Biden said in remarks Thursday at the White House. “We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.”
Senior Biden administration officials said that a U.S. official spoke "at length" with Paul Whelan by phone and talked him through Thursday's news. They emphasized that the administration also sought to bring Whelan home and had proposed multiple different options to the Russians that were rejected.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it became clear in recent weeks that while the Russians were willing to reach an agreement to release Griner, they continued to treat Whelan "differently ... with their totally illegitimate (espionage) charge that they levied against" him.
Griner, by contrast, was arrested in February and later convicted on more minor drug charges. Both Jean-Pierre and the senior administration officials stressed that the U.S. didn't have a choice between bringing home Griner or Whelan: It was Griner "or none."
"Here's the thing: The Russians were not willing to negotiate in good faith for the release of Paul Whelan at this time. And in order to increase the chances for success, we're not going to discuss more about the negotiations for his release publicly," Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing.
"We are committed to securing his release but we're just not going to get into specifics. But like I said, they were not operating in good faith."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in remarks Thursday that Whelan and his family continue to suffer "needlessly and unjustly" and called the charges against Whelan a "sham."
"Despite our efforts, the Russian government has not yet been willing to end his wrongful detention," Blinken said.
"I wholeheartedly wish that we could have brought on Paul home today on the same plane as Brittney, just as at the time, I wished we could have brought Brittney and Paul home when we secured the release of Trevor Reed back in April. But we will stay at it."
Whelan's sister, Elizabeth, said she heard a similar message from a State Department official who visited her at home late Wednesday afternoon to prepare her family for the Griner news — a welcome change from the spring when the Whelans only got a 30-minute heads-up about Reed's release.
"What we’ve seen all the way along is they have tried to treat Paul’s case separately, but we have tried to bundle them together to try to get more than one home at a time — Trevor and Paul, Brittney and Paul," Elizabeth said.
"But the Russians have consistently refused to do that. On one hand, they know it causes dissension at our end and trouble — so that even though we're celebrating Brittney, they know there's going to be all this fuss that Paul was not brought home and they love that."
The Kremlin is also trying to get additional leverage out of the "fairy tale" that they've created around claiming Whelan is an American spy, she added: "The U.S. government, the general public, the media are all starting to see how Russia plays these things — that they are purposefully trying to cause trouble this way, making it so that there 'wasn't a choice'" to bring both home.
Her parents, who live in Manchester, Michigan, were "devastated," Elizabeth said. In an unusual move, the prison in Russia allowed Paul to call his parents Thursday morning, and he "was being very courageous and resilient and tried to reassure them," Elizabeth said.
But Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, who represents Whelan's parents in Congress, noted it is the second prisoner exchange where Biden "has left Paul Whelan behind," calling it another "lop-sided swap." "Absolutely heartbroken for the Whelan family. They deserve better," Walberg tweeted.
David Whelan stressed that his family does not begrudge Griner her freedom. The family knew there was a possibility that either Griner or Whelan might be freed without the other, he said. But he also can't imagine his brother retains any hope that a government will negotiate his freedom at this stage, and he worries that Paul's health won't hold up for the 12 years left on his sentence in the labor colony.
Looking ahead, David Whelan said he's concerned that the U.S. government has exhausted all the most valuable concessions that it had. In addition to Bout and Yaroshenko, negotiators have gone through a "laundry list" of other concessions, and "Russia didn’t budge for any of it," David Whelan said.
"How do they find that concession that the Russian government needs? ... The Kremlin is going to be looking for parity, and if they've labeled Paul a spy, then maybe they won't trade him until the U.S. has a spy to give them back in exchange," David Whelan said.
"I hate to say it but if that's the only way to get Paul home, then maybe what the U.S. government needs to do is go on a spy hunt in the U.S. to find Russian spies. They're here for sure. Maybe it's just a matter of capturing one."
The Russians failed to engage in meaningful conversations on Whelan or even offer up what or who it is they want beyond some apparent statement of equivalency, said Ryan Fayhee, the Whelan family's lawyer.
"The one silver lining to this — in addition to the news and relief that Brittney and her team and family must feel — is that this allows the U.S. government to focus entirely on Paul," Fayhee said Thursday.
"But when this is done, we as a country have a serious problem on our hands where there has to be a way to prevent and deter this type of conduct. The administration is going to have to also focus on how best to address that very complicated issue to avoid ever again being put in this pretty horrible position."
U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democrat who represents Whelan in Congress, said Thursday she's still hopeful and not giving up after speaking to the White House.
"I've talked to Paul's family, and we remain dedicated to the pursuit of getting him returned. It's very clear that the Russians are continuing to use him as a political pawn, as a point of leverage — as they have for nearly four years. It's certainly very heartbreaking," she told The Detroit News.
"There's no parity when trying to negotiate with the lawlessness of Putin and the FSB. Personally, I know that Paul is being wrongly and falsely detained. In terms of how we move forward, we will continue to use diplomacy. I am pushing to be as aggressive as possible and pursue any actions."
Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also expressed relief over Griner but blasted the decision to trade Bout, nicknamed the Merchant of Death, calling him a "dangerous, convicted arms dealer who was in prison for conspiring to kill Americans."
That "will only embolden Vladimir Putin to continue his evil practice of taking innocent Americans hostage for use as political pawns," McCaul said. "Moreover, my heart breaks for Paul Whelan and other wrongfully detained Americans in Russia. They must not be forgotten.”
Incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, called the trade a "gift to Vladimir Putin" that would endanger American lives.
"Leaving Paul Whelan behind is unconscionable," McCarthy said.
At the White House, Jean-Pierre said Biden did not make the Bout decision "lightly." She also was asked if the administration was concerned about the swap encouraging Russia and other governments to wrongfully detain more U.S. citizens.
"Russia and other countries have already been willing to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens," she replied.
