Detroit Free Press in 2019:
A Trump administration official said Thursday afternoon that it “has been and continues to be actively engaged with Paul Whelan’s case,” pointing to Bolton’s meeting with Elizabeth Whelan and his tweet.
A State Department official told the Free Press that consular officers were at Whelan’s hearing Thursday, too.
“We will continue to monitor Mr. Whelan’s case closely and to press for fair and humane treatment, due process, and access to appropriate medical care,” a State Department spokesman said. “We take allegations of mistreatment seriously, and will continue to raise Mr. Whelan’s case at every opportunity. The department has no higher priority than the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad. We urge the Russian government to guarantee a fair and transparent judicial process without undue delay, in accordance with its international legal obligations.
“The department remains in regular contact with the Whelan family. On June 13, Consular officials conducted the embassy’s ninth prison visit to Mr. Whelan since he was first detained.”
. . .
“We have been working on this case for six months already and we didn’t see any real evidence. We tried to convince the court today to change the detention to house arrest. Paul said his position to the judge (that he is innocent), but everything was in vain.”
John Bolton spoke out against whelans detention repeatedly as a member of the Trump administration.
John Bolton spoke out against Whelans detention repeatedly as a member of the Trump administration.
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The same John Bolton mentioned here:
Trump turned down Viktor Bout-for-Paul Whelan prisoner swap, John Bolton says
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4114950/posts
I found that Detroit Free Press article from 2019 you’re referring to. You left a little bit out:
“Accused of spying, Paul Whelan makes plea from Russia, asks Trump to intervene
From inside a glass enclosure in Moscow City Court, Paul Whelan, who has been accused of spying, appealed Thursday to President Donald Trump to intervene in his case, saying he is a victim of “political kidnapping.”
“Mr. President, we cannot keep America great unless we aggressively protect American citizens wherever they are in the world,” Whelan, 49, of Novi told reporters.
He urged the president to tweet about his intentions.
To date, Trump has remained quiet about Whelan, a former Marine who was the director of global security for the Auburn Hills-based auto supplier BorgWarner when he was arrested in his Moscow hotel in December and accused of spying.
Although Trump has yet to make a statement (or tweet) about Whelan, others in his administration — most recently U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton — have spoken out against the continued detention of an American citizen without evidence from the Russian government to support its claims of espionage.
Bolton tweeted June 16 about meeting with Whelan’s sister to discuss how to support him in prison, and wrote, “Russia has provided no evidence of wrongdoing.”
And then the article picks up what you posted.