Biden Meets With Families of Russian Prisoners Griner and Whelan

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WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner holds images standing in a cage at a courtroom for a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. Closing arguments in Brittney Griner's cannabis possession case are set for Thursday, nearly six months after the American basketball star was arrested at a Moscow airport in a case that reached the highest levels of US-Russia diplomacy. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)
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President Biden is scheduled to meet with the families of WNBA star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. This is the first in-person meeting the president has had with them.

The White House says this meeting is to discuss President Biden’s continuing commitment to bringing both Americans home safely, and added that he wanted the families to know that their loved ones remained front of mind and that his team is working on it every day.

During the White House briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “while I would love to say that the purpose of this meeting is to inform the families that the Russians have accepted our offer and we are bringing their loved ones home, that is not what we’re — we’re seeing in these negotiations at this time. Look, as we have said, the Russians should accept our offer. They should accept our offer today.”

Griner was sentenced to nine years for having cannabis oil in her luggage. Whelan was accused of spying and sentenced to 16 years.


Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.

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