The simple truth is that the U.S. intelligence community actively recruits former military people like Paul Whelan. He is actually more likely to have been spying, and more important that he be returned to the U.S. for national security.
“The simple truth is that the U.S. intelligence community actively recruits former military people like Paul Whelan. He is actually more likely to have been spying, and more important that he be returned to the U.S. for national security.”
According to multiple sources, Russia would only release Whelan in exchange for the release of Vadim Krasikov, a former KGB colonel who is serving a life sentence in a German prison. In other words, a “spy for a spy.” Instead, they traded Griner for Bout — a common criminal for a common criminal.