Free Republic

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he was granting 39 pardons and 1,499 commutations in what his administation called the “largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history.” But it’s not Thursday’s set of commutations that have caught the attention of concerned Americans — it’s those that were quietly given weeks ago to Chinese spies.X user Nick Sortor posted that “Joe Biden just pardoned multiple Chinese spies and an individual convicted of possessing child p*rnography. WHY?”But the thing is, Biden didn’t “just” commute the sentences for these criminals — he did it quietly only days before Thanksgiving.While most Americans...

President Joe Biden on Thursday hailed the complex prisoner-swap deal with Russia that freed unjustly imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and two others in exchange for prisoners including Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov as a prodigious “feat of diplomacy.” Biden said all four of the recovered prisoners were “convicted in show trials” by Russia “for absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever.” In addition to Gershkovich and Whelan, the freed detainees included Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Muza, a U.S. green-card holder and Washington Post contributor who was sentenced to 25 years in prison...

Imprisoned American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan were freed from prison in Russia Thursday as part of the largest multi-country prisoner swap since the Cold War. The Americans were among 26 prisoners from the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Russia, and Belarus freed as part of the prisoner exchange overseen by Turkish intelligence, Turkey’s presidency said. Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich spent nearly 500 days in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison alongside serial killers and other political prisoners.

President Joe Biden celebrated the end of the 'brutal ordeal' for Americans 'imprisoned unjustly' inside Russia as he announced a complex prisoner swap and then led a rendition of 'happy birthday' to the teen daughter of a freed prisoner. Biden made a surprise appearance inside the State Dining Room at the White House hours after the historic deal that freed American ex-Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. All were held inside Russia, Whelan since 2018, for 'no legitimate reason whatsoever - none,' Biden said. 'And now they're brutal ordeal is over and they're free.

The soldier, who was stationed in Korea and traveled to Russia on his own, is accused of stealing from a woman. A U.S. soldier was detained in Russia last week, a U.S. Army spokesperson said in a statement. He had been stationed in South Korea and traveled to Russia on his own and not on official business, according to four U.S. officials. The soldier is accused of stealing from a woman, the officials said. The soldier was detained on May. 2, U.S. Army spokesperson Cynthia O. Smith, said in a statement. In a statement, Smith said that the soldier was...

American Paul Whelan said he is "extremely concerned about being left behind" in Russia again, as the Biden administration looks to cut a deal with the Kremlin to release U.S. detainees. In one of several phone calls over the Christmas holiday, Whelan told WTOP that the Russians are "adamant" about doing "one-for-one exchanges," which he worries will result in Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's release and not his own. "At this point, the five-year mark, I'm extremely concerned about being left behind a third time," Whelan said. "I'm concerned that the Biden administration will work out a deal for...