It sounded crazy at first. But a former federal judge just gave a big boost to an idea that could help free Brittney Griner.
, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time WNBA all-star who plays on a Russian team during the off season, was arrested four months ago at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for carrying vape cartridges and hashish oil in her luggage. Bout , is the world’s most famous international arms trafficker. Nicknamed theAdvertisementabout Griner’s plight in Sunday’ssuggest that an exchange wouldn’t be so improper or improbable after all.
Bout has served 11 years in a federal prison, almost half of his 25-year sentence, and Scheindlin thinks that’s enough. In fact, she thought the sentence “was too high at the time.” Bout was convicted of conspiring to sell arms to the FARC, the Colombian guerilla group that the U.S. had designated as a terrorist organization. However, Bout himself “was not a terrorist in my opinion,” Scheindlin said—”he was a businessman.” But under U.S.
Tuesday morning, I emailed Scheindlin—who is now retired from the bench, working as a private litigator and arbitrator—and asked whether thearticle accurately captured her views and she has recently discussed the case with any U.S. officials. She replied. “1. Accurate. 2. No.” Scheindlin’s view is notable: If the judge who sentenced Bout now believes that it wouldn’t endanger national security to let him go after 11 years of time served, that could give Biden more political leeway to trade his freedom for Griner’s, whose plight has become a major priority for the administration.
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