Some good news for once out of DC! Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were released by Russia on Thursday as part of a significant, multi-nation prisoner swap involving two dozen individuals. This swap also saw the release of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and British-Russian activist Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Eight Russians, including the spy and convicted hitman Vadim Krasikov, are being returned to Russia from various countries including the United States, Slovenia, Norway, Poland, and Germany. The release of Krasikov, held in Germany for the 2019 murder of a former Chechen militant in Berlin, was crucial for Russia’s agreement to the swap, according to a Biden administration official.

Gershkovich, Whelan, and Kurmasheva are U.S. citizens, while Kara-Murza is a permanent American resident. President Biden praised the diplomatic efforts behind the swap, stating, “The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy,” and acknowledged the suffering and uncertainty endured by those imprisoned.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan highlighted the historic nature of the exchange, noting, “Not since the Cold War has there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way and there has never, so far as we know, been an exchange involving so many countries, so many close U.S. partners and allies working together.” He emphasized the complexity and length of the negotiations, which spanned many months.

Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March 2023 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in July after a trial criticized by the U.S. government as a sham. He was accused of collecting secret information about a defense enterprise’s activities related to military equipment on behalf of U.S. intelligence services. Whelan, arrested in Moscow in 2018, had been serving a 16-year sentence for alleged espionage since 2020.

But, leave it to Biden to rain on his own parade.

During the ceremony that was supposed to be his victory lap, he messed up.

As Biden concluded, a reporter asked, “President Trump has said repeatedly that he could’ve gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange…”

Biden said, “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?”

Folks, two of the three Americans were wrongfully detained during Biden’s presidency. Last I checked, Trump doesn’t have a time machine.

REPORTER: “President Trump has said repeatedly that he could’ve gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange…”

BIDEN: “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?”

(Two of the three Americans were wrongfully detained during Biden’s presidency) pic.twitter.com/jGDPtM3Pya

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 1, 2024