Tangle - Brittany Giner's imprisonment.

Episode Date: July 13, 2022

American basketball star Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia over four months ago on drug smuggling charges for allegedly possessing cannabis oil in her carry-on luggage. She was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport just a week before Russia invaded Ukraine and has been in prison ever since. Plus, a question about Joe Biden and some very important numbers on inflation and political polling.You can read today's podcast here.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here.Our podcast is written by Isaac Saul and produced by Trevor Eichhorn. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, Ari Weitzman, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tanglenews/message Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. yourself from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at flucellvax.ca.

From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, and welcome to the Tangle podcast, the place where you get views from across the political spectrum. Some independent thinking without all that hysterical nonsense you find everywhere else. I'm your host, Isaac Saul, and on today's episode, we are going to be discussing Brittany Griner, her detention in Russia, and a potential prisoner swap. Before we jump in though, we'll start off with some quick hits. First up, inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index rose 9.1% from a year ago, more than the 8.8% economists expected. It's the highest rise in annual rate of inflation since 1981, and the index rose 1.3% in the last month. Number two, Twitter has sued Elon Musk in hopes of enforcing his agreement to purchase the company for $44 billion. Number three, the euro and the US dollar reached parity yesterday for the first

time in 20 years, meaning the currencies now have equal value after years of the euro being stronger. Number four, a new wave of anger is sweeping Uvalde after security footage showed armed police officers talking, texting, and milling around the hallways of Rob Elementary School as the shooter was locked inside a classroom. Number five, in yesterday's January 6th hearing, the committee displayed an unsent draft tweet written before January 6th from Donald Trump, which would have encouraged supporters to march from his morning speech to the Capitol building. The panel claimed The surprise guilty plea by WNBA star Brittany Griner admitting to unintentionally bringing cannabis oil into Russia and now facing up to 10 years in a Russian penal colony.

Griner's trial beginning in the same week, she wrote a direct plea to President Biden as she sits at the center of a struggle between Vladimir Putin and a White House working to bring her home. Believed to be moved to try to speed up a potential prisoner exchange. So who would be exchanged for her freedom? Russian state media has speculated that the Kremlin might be interested in this guy, a prisoner swap that would free Victor Boot. He's a convicted arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence right now in the U.S. But who is he? American basketball star Brittany Griner was arrested over four months ago on drug smuggling charges for allegedly possessing cannabis oil in her carry-on luggage. She was detained in a Moscow international airport just a week before Russia invaded Ukraine and has been in

prison ever since. Last week, the 31-year-old Greiner appeared in court and entered a guilty plea. She faces up to 10 years in prison. Her next court appearance is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, July 14th. Her detention has already been extended an additional six months to December 20th, though some expect her trial to be completed in August. Greiner, a two-time gold medalist and star of the Phoenix Mercury, has played in Russia for several years during the WNBA offseason, which is common among women's professional players looking to make more money because playing overseas is often more lucrative than the United States. Initially, family and supporters avoided drawing attention

to her detention in hopes it could be resolved quickly. But in May, the State Department reclassified her arrest as a wrongful detention, and her case was handed over to a presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the U.S. government's chief negotiator. The Russian Federation has wrongly detained Brittany Greiner, Elizabeth Rude, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, said. The practice of wrongful detention is unacceptable wherever it occurs and is a threat to the safety of everyone traveling, working, and living abroad. Last week, Greiner wrote a letter to President Biden pleading for help, saying she was terrified she might be stuck in Russia forever. The detention comes at an all-time low point for U.S.-Russia relations. In the past, high-profile political

prisoners have been held and exchanged in prisoner swaps. Greiner's supporters are now hoping one more such swap will take place, and Russian news outlets have speculated she could be handed over in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor But, also known as the Merchant of Death, who is being held on a 25-year prison sentence for conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and providing aid to a terrorist organization. In response to her story, many have debated how Biden should proceed, including whether the U.S. should work to free Greiner through a prisoner swap. In a moment, you'll hear some arguments from the left and the right, and then my take. First up, we'll start with what the left is saying. The left mostly supports a prisoner swap,

though some hope the U.S. would get more than just Greiner. Many say Biden should do whatever he can to free her. Some say she must be freed, but concede the solutions are not obvious. In Politico, Douglas Farah, who wrote a book about Victor Boot, the merchant of death, said Joe Biden should take the deal. Boot provided tons of guns and ammunition to some of the most vicious warlords in the world and empowered them to carry out unspeakable atrocities, Farrow wrote. He is responsible for enabling murderous groups to kidnap and train thousands of child soldiers, use rape as a systematic method of terror and control, torture through the mass amputations of arms, legs, ears, and lips,

slaughter civilians, and help the Taliban take power in Afghanistan. Griner may have been carrying vape cartridges that were banned in Russia, but not in much of the world. There is no parity in the negotiations or symmetry in the lives or actions of the two potential protagonists. But President Joe Biden should take the deal, Farah said. First, Boot is a spent force who will be out of jail in a few years anyway. His business depended on personal relationships and trust among parties. After being out of business for more than a decade, Boot has neither of those left in the shadowy world in which he once operated. Second, Boot needed access to a global network stretching from Afghanistan to Europe, Africa, and South America. That network has morphed through several generations of new

actors, markets, and gatekeepers. Boot has no currency in that world now. The Los Angeles Times editorial board called for Greiner to be freed and criticized the pay gap in U.S. sports that compels our women athletes to work abroad so much of the year. We don't know if Greiner brought contraband into Russia or if she's being framed by an adversarial government with an unjust legal system, the board wrote. At this point, it really doesn't matter. This punishment does not fit the alleged crime, and it's clear that Greiner is essentially a political hostage. She must be freed. The U.S. State Department has deemed Greiner wrongfully detained, an official designation that means the government will work for her to be released

rather than wait for her case to play out in the Russian legal system. The federal government uses the term when it has information indicating that an American's arrest overseas was invalid or that they will be treated unfairly in a foreign justice system. And there is plenty of reason to fear that Greiner will not be treated fairly, they said. She is a lesbian in a country with anti-LGBTQ government. She faces a trial in a legal system where prosecutions almost always end in conviction. She is an American in a country the United States is punishing with economic sanctions for its brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine. Negotiating her release, though, is far from simple. Conceding to Russian demands risks the possibility that more Americans could be taken

hostage. Not conceding leaves Greiner suffering in a Russian prison. It's understandable that the U.S. government would want to minimize publicity to gain a stronger hand in negotiations with Russia. What's not understandable is that pay for professional athletes in this nation is so lopsided that it has driven women to seek opportunities in dangerous corners of the world. In Slate, Fred Kaplan said the exchange would be far from equal, but it might make sense. The last few paragraphs of a long story about Griner's plight in Sunday's New York Times suggest that an exchange wouldn't be so improper or improbable after all, Kaplan wrote. The article quotes Shira Shinlan, the former judge who presided over the Boot trial,

saying that a swap might not be a bad idea as long as Russia freed not only Greiner but also Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested on espionage charges in 2018. Boot himself, quote, was not a terrorist, in my opinion, Shinlin said. He was a businessman. But under U.S. law, 25 years was the minimum sentence for someone convicted of selling arms to terrorists, so she had no choice. Shinlin's view is notable. If the judge who sentenced Boot 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 grinders, whose plight has become a major priority for the administration, Kaplan said. Biden and Putin have a deeper interest in getting these prisoners

released, which may prompt one or the other or both to raise the price for their hostages. The makings of a trade are here and plausible. Whether it happens is another matter. Alright, that is it for what the left is saying, which brings us to the right's take. The right is mostly opposed to swapping Greiner for boot, arguing that we shouldn't reward Russia for her detention. Some say Greiner bears some responsibility for breaking Russia's laws. Others on the right say Biden should work to free her, and it's a sign of weakness that he hasn't been able to. The Washington Examiner editorial board said don't dance to Russia's hostage waltz. Russia is using American detainees, many of them innocent, as hostages, bargaining chips to release convicted criminals and spies in U.S. prisons, the board said.

Washington should apply the same approach it applies to terrorist groups who take Americans hostage. When faced with aggression, exert increased pressure. Americans are being detained and given long, punishing sentences not because they committed serious crimes, but because Putin's government views them as useful bargaining chips. Putin's regime views Greiner, a high-profile athlete who is both black and openly lesbian, as a valuable foreign policy asset. Russian officials can demean Greiner for her race and sexuality without significant domestic backlash, while putting extra pressure on the Biden administration to make concessions to secure her release in a prisoner exchange. Biden must also not allow Russia to believe that a trade for boot or any other Russian is on the table, the board said. Instead,

the president should employ the same strategy he has applied in response to Russian aggression in other domains, such as cyber warfare in Ukraine. Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease.

Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is nearly double the historic average of 52,000 cases. What can you do this flu season? Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about getting a flu shot. Consider FluCellVax Quad and help protect yourself from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at FluCellVax.ca.

Washington should seize more Russian government and oligarch-affiliated funds. It should also increase sanctions on all those affiliated with the Russian criminal justice system. If even mid-ranking officials, prosecutors, and judges from the Russian courts, Investigative Committee of Russia, its federal prosecution agency, and Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot easily vacation abroad or move money around foreign accounts, then the Kremlin's appetite for hostage-taking will wane. The key is to make the Kremlin pay for its gamble in a manner that incurs direct pain instead of creating a political benefit. In the American Conservative, Mika Vian said her imprisonment should inspire newfound appreciation for American government. Boot received his 25-year sentence in 2012, where prosecutors

described him as among the world's most successful and sophisticated arms traffickers who delivered weapons to groups he suspected were going to kill Americans. Trading Victor Boot, merchant of death, for Brittany Griner, WNBA player, seems like a lopsided deal. That's not just my opinion, but the opinion held by some DOJ officials as well, he wrote. Those advocating for Greiner's release have made some rather preposterous claims. Take, for instance, Carrie Champion at CNN, who said, if she's not free, we're all not free. It's everyone's responsibility. Excuse me, what? We're not all breaking Russian laws right now. Whether or not her potential sentence is

just, she did break the law in Russia. Further, that conception of just is our conception of just, not Russia's, which brings me to my last point. Brittany Griner protested the national anthem in 2020, claiming, I personally don't think it belongs in sports and that it is a song that didn't represent all Americans when it was first made. Perhaps Greiner's time in Russian jail will inspire a newfound gratitude for our government, our national anthem, and our Anglo-American heritage, which provide her the freedom she now no longer enjoys. Hopefully, it will make her rethink breaking Russian laws too. In National Review, Jack Wolfson said Biden's failure to release Greiner is another sign of weakness. According to the White House press office, Biden told Shirell, said Biden's failure to release Greiner is another sign of weakness.

According to the White House press office, Biden told Shirell, Greiner's wife, that he is working to secure Britney's release as soon as possible. The president read Shirell a draft of his letter to Britney, which he plans to send today, Wolfson wrote. While it is good that Biden is finally taking steps to secure Greiner's release, he should have taken action long ago. Speaking to the media on Monday, Greiner's coach made a good point. If it was LeBron, he'd be home, right? Greiner, who says she voted for Biden, should have been home by now, Wolfson said. Biden's record of freeing Americans detained abroad falls far short of Trump's. During his time in office, Trump brought home more than 50 Americans from 22 countries. Today, 55 Americans are being detained abroad. Representative Jim Jordan tweeted in mid-June,

Everyone knows President Trump would have negotiated Brittany Griner's release by now. Jordan may or may not be right, but whether it's Americans stuck in Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal, or detainees in Russia, it appears President Biden cannot be relied on to perform this most essential mission, bringing Americans home. Alright, that is it for the left and the right's take, which brings us to my take. So, this is one of those days where I'm really very glad I'm not the president. Prisoner exchanges are one of the most difficult calculations I can imagine having to make as the leader of a country like ours. You literally have to weigh the value of one person's freedom

against another's, and you have to do it knowing such evaluation could have long-lasting ripple effects. In this case, I actually don't think the question of releasing Boot is that complicated. Most of the people closest to him, from the judge who prosecuted him to the author who spent years writing about him, seem to believe he's been rendered toothless and releasing him is rather low risk. Boot's power as an arms dealer was in his connections, his ability to travel the globe freely, and to do so without recognition. If he were released from U.S. custody, he would never have any of those things again. He'd be a fool to even try. More concerning to me is the precedent it would set. Perhaps we're already there, given Greiner's detention over

typically minor offenses, but the last thing we want is for Russia to believe every high-profile American it detains on flimsy charges can be traded for a criminal of their own. As many have pointed out, we still don't even know if Greiner actually possessed any drugs. We just know that it is smart for her to plead guilty, since that usually helps people like her get out of jail more quickly in Russia. Still, my view is that a simple swap of Greiner for boot would be an abject failure of the Biden administration's negotiating team. It's okay to do everything we can to get her home, and we should, but the fact Russian media and now U.S. media are trumpeting the potential release of Boot is an opportunity to get more. We should let him go, but we should do it for the best possible deal in return. Hopefully that means Paul Whelan,

an American wrongfully detained on bogus espionage charges in Russia since 2018, comes home with Greiner. Even in a world where Greiner was in possession of cannabis oil, she should be freed. She's been playing in Russia for years, helping elevate the women's game there, getting paid handsomely, and melding two worlds that could really use it right now. Russia also has an opportunity here, to show the world that it isn't the draconian place many critics say it is, and that they wouldn't imprison an American star who has embraced their own leagues for a quote-unquote crime that amounts to a misdemeanor in most places in America and the world. Whether they do or don't, the four-month prison sentence and the use of Greiner as a pawn should push other

athletes and actors to reconsider the merits of our cultural or athletic engagement with authoritarian regimes like Russia. In many ways, sending our stars to Russia or China is a great way to spread the best of American values, those of democracy or individual liberty. But the risks, as we can see now, are also monumental. Elissa Rosenberg made this argument well, writing that we don't just risk the literal lies of our stars, we also risk too many having to compromise their integrity and dignity for a paycheck. If the optimistic logic of American cultural exports held true, she wrote, Greiner's American-ness and star status should have protected

her. But the Russian government's decision to arrest and prosecute Greiner reveals a blunt calculation. Americans value Greiner more than Russians ever could, and the Putin regime can use her as leverage in a showdown with the United States without provoking domestic disgruntlement. It's a realistic assessment of where things stand from Rosenberg, and we should all take it to heart. Alright, that is it for my take, which brings us to your questions answered. All right, that is it for my take, which brings us to your questions answered. This one is from Craig in Plano, Texas. He said, so what can we do about Biden's age and his declining functionality? We don't want Kamala to move up to the presidency. I believe most would agree with me. Do we have any reasonable path forward? So Craig, even if you believe Biden

is declining, I don't really think there is much to do. There will be another election in two years, and based on everything his staff says, there seems to be a consensus he has what it takes to serve right now. If that changes, I'm sure their tunes will change, but I wholly expect Biden to finish his term. As I said yesterday, I think there is a middle ground here. One can hold that Biden has what it takes to be president today and to complete his term, while also believing it's apparent he should not run in 2024. I happen to be one of those people. If that changes, given how much this administration has leaked to the press,

I'm sure we'll hear about it. All right, next up is our story that matters. This one is from Axios' Josh Krosher, who says, we are witnessing a political realignment in real time. According to new polling from Santa College, Democrats now have a bigger advantage among white college graduates than they do with non-white voters. Republicans, meanwhile, are building an increasingly multiracial coalition of working-class voters using inflation as an appeal. For instance, Democrats hold a 20-point advantage over Republicans

among white, college-educated voters, but are statistically tied among Hispanics. Republicans are also boasting their most diverse class of candidates ever for the 2022 midterms. President Biden's approval rating sank to 33% in the poll. Axios has the story, and there is a link to it in today's newsletter. All right, next up is the numbers section. 34% is the percentage of Americans who say they had heard nothing at all about Brittany Griner's detainment, according to a mid-May poll from YouGov. The number of Americans detained wrongfully abroad, according to the James

W. Foley Legacy Foundation, is 60. The number of Republican House targets that have a Hispanic population above 15% is 29 of 75 seats. The increase in gas prices in June was 11.2% before declining over the last few weeks. The increase in superbug infections in U.S. hospitals during the pandemic was 15% according to a new CDC report. All right, and last but not least, our have a nice day story. A single mom in Texas received an unexpected $4,000 tip from a good Samaritan who had just had some good luck of her own last week. Chelsea Bell Landtrip said she was bartending at Chance's Dance Hall in Cleburne when two women she'd never seen came into the bar and ordered the whole house a round of drinks.

What Bell thought was a normal transaction turned into something quite different when the woman paying tipped her $1,000, which left Bell in tears. When the woman saw her reaction, she raised the tip to $2,000 and ultimately left her a $4,000 tip. I didn't believe it until it went through the credit card machine, and I still didn't believe it until it hit the bank, Bell said. NBC News has this story, including how Bell plans to use the money to support her son, who is starting college in the fall. All right, everybody, like I always say at the end of this podcast, if you want to support our work, the best way to do that is to go to

readtangle.com slash membership and become a subscriber. We'll be right back here tomorrow. Same time. Peace. Our newsletter is written by Isaac Saul, edited by Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, Ari Weitzman, and produced in conjunction with Tangle's social media manager, Magdalena Bokova, who also helped create our logo. The podcast is edited by Trevor Eichhorn and music for the Thank you. We'll see you next time. Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown, follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions

can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at flucellvax.ca.