Trump’s ‘Fair Deal’ for American Teacher Was Actually a Prisoner Swap, Kremlin Confirms
Trump is caught lying--AGAIN! No surprise there.
Donald Trump’s claim of a no-strings-attached deal to secure the release of American school teacher Marc Fogel from Russia has unraveled after the Kremlin confirmed it was, in fact, a prisoner swap. While Trump touted the agreement as a diplomatic win, Russian officials stated that the U.S. had freed a Russian national in exchange for Fogel. The unidentified Russian was later revealed to be Alexander Vinnik, a 45-year-old accused of laundering billions through the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. Despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisting on NewsNation that Fogel’s release was “not in return for anything,” the truth appears to be far less flattering for the former president.
Trump, who met Fogel upon his return to the U.S., deflected questions about what the U.S. had given up, merely calling the deal “very fair.” Meanwhile, Vinnik’s lawyer confirmed that his client had been released, calling it “a real relief for my client and his family.”
Vinnik, who was extradited from Greece to the U.S. in 2017, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in 2024. The White House has not commented on the specifics of the exchange, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov suggested it was a minor step toward improving U.S.-Russia relations, stating,
“Such agreements can hardly serve as a turning point, but they are little steps toward building mutual confidence, which is at its lowest level.”
Fogel, 63, had been detained in Russia since 2021 for bringing medical marijuana into the country.
Upon his release, he expressed gratitude but downplayed his own role, saying, “I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now. I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all, and President Trump is a hero.”
Trump, in turn, hinted that the deal could help his ambitions to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, stating, “I think this … could be a big, important part in getting the war over.” Whether that claim holds up remains to be seen, but for now, what was framed as a diplomatic victory has been exposed as another carefully crafted illusion.
Source: The Daily Beast