Understandably, the news of the prisoner swap deal between the United States and Russia in which Russia got convicted arms dealer Viktor “Merchant of Death” Bout in exchange for WNBA player Brittney Griner sparked renewed concerns over making such deals in the first place, with some critics suggesting they effectively incentivize bad-faith actors in foreign governments to arrest and detain American citizens.
It also raised questions as to why retired Marine Paul Whelan, who has been in a Russian prison since 2018 stemming from espionage charges leveled against him while he was reportedly in the country for a friend’s wedding, was left behind a second time this year (Biden also authorized a prisoner swap in April that brought home Marine veteran Trevor Reed).
The Biden administration has repeatedly insisted that after attempting a two-for-one deal the Kremlin gave them no choice but to pick Griner – who has been detained in Russia since February – alone, with one senior administration official telling reporters that Russia said it was Griner or no one:
“Due to the nature of the sham espionage charges Russia levied against Paul, the Russians have continued to treat his situation differently from Brittney’s and rejected each and every one of our proposals for his release,” a senior administration official said. “It was a choice between bringing home one particular American, Brittney Griner, or bringing home none.”“The Russians were not negotiating in good faith” on Paul Whelan’s release, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said hours later in a news conference.
But in an NBC News story filed Thursday, the day of Griner’s release, they originally reported a “senior U.S. official” as saying the Kremlin did indeed give Biden a choice between Griner and Whelan (bolded emphasis mine):
A senior U.S. official told NBC News that the U.S. government had sought to have both Griner and Whelan released as part of a swap with the Kremlin, which wanted the return of Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who has served 11 years of a 25-year sentence in the U.S. But the official said Russia has treated Whelan differently because he is an accused spy, and that the Kremlin gave the White House the choice of either Griner or Whelan — or none.
At some point that report was stealth edited to note that “the official said that Russia has treated Whelan differently because he is accused of spying and that the Kremlin ultimately gave the White House the choice of Griner or no one after different options were proposed.”
The correction eventually was noted at the bottom of the story after conservative news outlets like The Blaze inquired about the change:
CORRECTION (Dec. 8, 2022, 4:09 p.m.): An earlier version of this article misstated the choice the Biden administration was given over hostages. It was to swap for Griner or no one, not a choice between Griner or Whelan.
The quiet revision to the story was reminiscent of NBC News’ treatment of the Paul Pelosi assault story, where the network suspended reporter Miguel Almaguer without explanation last month after he shared details from his sources that didn’t match up with what the San Francisco PD originally put out there, stating that it was Pelosi who answered the door to the police and then walked back toward suspect David DePape (initial information by the police led people to believe a third person had been in the home and answered the door).
Is it possible that NBC News simply incorrectly interpreted what they were told by that “senior U.S. official”? Sure, but considering the fallout from their Paul Pelosi story and past instances where they’ve been caught stealth editing stories to fit a pre-conceived narrative, do not give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY