Black female basketball player is released in exchange for an international arms dealer…..white Marine still sits in prison….and yes, coincidentally right after the mid-terms. Gotta secure that black and gay voting base 
You and Marjorie Taylor Greene must be in cahoots, or you adamantly follow her Twitter account. What you posted in nearly word for word what she said on Twitter.

Notice, I am not disagreeing with you or Marjorie. I am suggesting that one should look at the nuisances of these types of negotiations. Biden is President, so naturally he gets the criticism. I am not sure who negotiates these exchanges, but my guess is it wasn't Biden himself.
IMO, it is a real shame that thus far the U.S. has been unsuccessful at negotiating Paul Whelan's release. He was accused and convicted of espionage. Whelan and his defense team declined to appeal the conviction, which seems odd to me. It appears
obvious that in Russia espionage is a more serious crime than Griner's drug charges. She had a 9-year sentence compared to Whelan's 16-year prison sentence of which he has served 4 years.
In the U.S. the crime of espionage is extremely serious. A conviction could result in life in prison or even death. The possession if hashish is still a crime in the U.S. Conviction can result in a sentence of up to 5 years. I am not sure how the easing of laws against marijuana, which vary by state might change this.
Viktor Blout was sentenced for 25 years of which he has served 10. His crime is more serious than Griner's and their respective sentences reflect this. All in all, as far as trades go, the U.S. didn't negotiate as good a deal as did Russia on this one.
I've said this before, and I truly believe it. When in "Rome, do as the Romans do." If you're in another country, it behooves you to know and abide by their laws or face the consequences. Remember the young fellow who caned 4 times for theft and vandalism in Singapore when he was 18 years old. Many folks in the U.S. were aghast at this. I say too bad, so sad. Turns out he was a bit of a nuisance. He was cited for various minor crimes when he returned to the U.S. Folks like this jerk are slow learners.
