Former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson Meeting With Russian Leadership About Brittney Griner
Former Nevada Governor and diplomat Bill Richardson has traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian officials about Brittney Griner. The WNBA superstar was sentenced to nine years for drug possession.
Richardson, who was governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011, runs The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which negotiates prisoner and hostage releases. In a statement to CNN, Cherelle Griner, Griner’s wife, said, "We've asked Governor Richardson and the Richardson Center to help us, and have been working with them for a while. We are encouraged to hear that they are having meetings in Moscow."
The Biden administration stated Richardson is not representing the U.S. An official told CNN that anyone "who's going to Russia is going as a private citizen and they don't speak for the US government."
The details about the meeting are unclear. According to CNN, a spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said, "There were no meetings in the Kremlin and I have nothing to tell you on this topic.”
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said there hadn't been contact with Richardson or the Richardson Center, and it was "not coordinated in advance with the Embassy." Price added, "Our concern is that anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to hinder the efforts that we have undertaken to see the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner.”
In April of this year, Richardson helped to orchestrate the release of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed from a Russian prison.
WNBA superstar Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison for drug possession. As she awaits appeal hearings, there are reports that the 31-year-old is stressed.
There have been talks of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia for over a month. There were reports of trading Griner and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine convicted on espionage charges in Russia who Bill Richardson also represents, for Victor Bout. In 2011, Bout was convicted of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and officials. He is known as the "Merchant of Death.”
On Feb. 17, Griner, who had been playing for UMMC Yekaterinburg in Russia, was arrested by Russian Federal Customs Service at Sheremetyevo Airport near Moscow. Agents said they found hashish oil vape cartridges in her luggage. According to The Washington Post, she was charged with transporting a “significant amount,” or 0.702 grams, of cannabis oil. Griner’s arrest came amid tension escalating over Russia invading Ukraine.
Griner pleaded guilty but argued in court that she did not intentionally put the cartridges in her luggage and packed them in haste. In a written statement, her defense presented evidence that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain. On August 4, the WNBA star was convicted and sentenced to 9 years.
