‘Doing Bad Deals’: GOP Rep Who Served In Elite Army Unit Rips Biden Over Trading ‘Merchant Of Death’ For Griner
A Republican congressman who served with an elite Army unit blasted the Biden administration Thursday over the exchange of arms dealer Viktor Bout for WNBA star Brittney Griner, saying that “doing bad deals” sent “a terrible message” to the world.
“The real problem here is just the weakness of this president. We got a marine sitting over there. We traded this merchant of death guy who was going to target U.S. military personnel. And so what is the message we’re sending to the people serving in our military, or who might one day serve?” Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, who served as a flight surgeon for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, told Fox News hosts Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer. “We’ll leave the marine in the jail in Russia. We’ll free the guy who was going to target U.S. military soldiers, and … just get … the high profile basketball player.”
WATCH:
Russia released Griner after the United States agreed to free “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout, an arms dealer convicted on charges related to a sale of weapons to a terrorist group in Colombia. Griner was sentenced to nine years in a labor camp for possession of cannabis after pleading guilty in July.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the United Arab Emirates helped broker Griner’s release during Thursday’s press briefing.
“It’s a terrible message to send not only to the despots of the world who now know that they can get a trade if they just capture an American, but to the military, the United States military who are saying, ‘Yeah, I can serve this country, and the president will leave me and take the — the basketball player,’” Green continued.
Green noted the case of Paul Whelan, a former Marine who was arrested by Russia in 2018 and charged with espionage. Whelan received a 16-year prison sentence in 2020.
“I guess it’s just understandable. He [Biden] was the vice president when we traded five Taliban leaders, you know, warlords, basically for Bowe Bergdahl,” Green said. “So he was trained by the best I guess in doing bad deals.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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Biden adds more blood to his hands, Shit all over him as he defends a sports “IT” over a veteran of the USA! A high level murdering scum bag was release to free a USA hating sports person sure shows what Joe thinks of our Veterans….. Add this to thousands left behind in Afghanistan to fend for their own lives as he pulls out and leaves soldiers and families behind and gives a disgusting remark they wanted to stay there????? Then claims in the only mention of them in way over a year HE would send not one person to save them and thats all he is willing to say?????????????????????????????????
Sure, send a terrorist arms dealer convicted of a conspiracy to kill Americans as a trade for an America hating, black, lesbian, admitted weed smuggling basketball player who only has to be in prison for three more years. But leave behind the white Marine who has served his country and was framed for spying and has a sentence of sixteen years. Sounds about right in the name of Biden’s immoral and illegal “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” policies…..