The Wall Street Journal reports (with no pay wall).
August 1, 2024
"Russia freed wrongly convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as part of the largest and most complex East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War..."
"... in which he and more than a dozen others jailed by the Kremlin were exchanged for Russians held in the U.S. and Europe, including a convicted murderer. Gershkovich and other Americans left Russian aircraft moments ago at an airport in Turkey’s capital, Ankara. Russia had kept the 32-year-old behind bars for more than a year on a false allegation of espionage. It sentenced him in a hurried and secret three-day trial to 16 years in a high-security penal colony. Moscow also released former Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British-Russian dissident and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, sentenced to 25 years in prison on treason-related charges. Russia also released a number of political dissidents. The sweeping deal involved 24 prisoners and at least six countries, and came together after months of negotiations at the highest levels of governments in the U.S., Russia and Germany, whose prisoner, Russian hit man Vadim Krasikov, emerged as the linchpin to the arrangement."
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49 comments:
just ensuring another round of hostages in the future, krasikov is who putin wanted,
they KEEP Saying "wrongly convicted"..
Could some please give me a List, of ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD that say THEY were "rightly convicted"?
I'll wait, should be a Short List
All of the US native Russian prisoners were held unfairly and are heroes. Especially the journalists.
All of the Russians held by the US and Europe were murderers and hit men.
Is there anything else we are supposed to learn here?
how foolish the regime is,
and yes the gerskovich trial, was as fake as the DC follies,
How do we know he was 'wrongly convicted'?
We arrest their hitmen and murderers. They arrest our journalists.
Will be interesting to see how Trump takes credit for it.
When they say, "wrongly convicted" and "false allegation" I wonder, how could they know?
we trade their hitmen for our journalists, thats the interesting part of the story,
"The Secret Service fails to protect wrongly convicted former president."
You know something, I ought to try writing for news services as a side hustle.
"wrongly convicted" the WSJ asserted without evidence.
Is that how we do it now?
Americans held hostage to Kamala's immigration reform, Green deals, men in women's spaces, progressive prices, Biden's Springs without borders, DEI, etc. Why did the Democratic administration have high-level negotiations to exchange these criminals in American custody?
"I wonder, how could they know?"
Because reasons.
The guy was in a restricted area of Russia during a time of war trying to figure out how many tanks they were making. I guess he wasn't carrying a card that confirmed his status as a spy. That must be the reason.
It's an interesting story about the guy that the Russian hitman whacked. If he were Israeli, Rich would be praising him to the skies.
WSJ asserts wrongly-convicted "without evidence."
They provided not a SHRED of evidence that he is wrongly convicted. Just bald-faced asserted it, suggesting highly that the authors of this piece are themselves government agents.
The CIA needs to get its embeds OUT of our media organizations.
he was a chechen partisan a boijivik, who the Germans gave sanctuary to,
a similar thing happened in doha in 2004, the Chechen exile leader thought he was safe, but two grenades proved him wrong,
The WSJ is a Justice Denier".
he was caught in ekaterinberg, where they shot the czar, there is nothing that suggests he was involved in any state secrets,
What irks me about Rich's comment is the implication that we are better than they are. That we don't do assassinations, for instance, don't "wrongly convict" people, don't imprison journalists. There is an attempt right now by the Democrats to convict Trump of "espionage."
These are fairy tales that are intended for people with the minds of children. But the artillery is real, the nuclear warheads are real, and when you uncork the "dogs of war," the consequences are real. Hundreds of thousands are already dead. Telling the voters in a democracy lies is a kind of treason.
there is nothing that suggests he was involved in any state secrets
How do you know though, if it was a secret trial?
Don't get me wrong. I'm glad he's out. What I have an issue with is this unsupported pronouncement that he is completely innocent. Maybe he is, but how could they possibly know? And if they know, why don't they tell us how they know?
Shouldn't they at least say, "According to sources familiar with the case" or "Gershkovich maintains his innocence" or something like that?
https://x.com/RichardGrenell/status/1819046336182010290?t=-eRZ8T7w_6qNQyHvLeLoRw&s=19
One Western journalist working in Russia told Meduza that in addition to Yekaterinburg, Gershkovich has traveled to the city of Nizhny Tagil, where the defense contractor Uralvagonzavod is located.
It's where they make tanks. The issue of how many tanks the Russians were making was very important at the time. It had a lot to do with how many tanks we needed to provide to Kiev, and how well the sanctions were working. Snooping around there talking to people who may work at the factory, or know people who do, or even counting trucks, is going to be seen as espionage, whether he was operating under direct orders by our government or not.
It was appropriate to swap him as a spy.
From the comments here, you'd think the WSJ is a left wing rag.
If LLR-democratical Rich thought this was actually a big "win" for Dementia Joe's handlers then he wouldn't have felt compelled to drag Trump into it.
But then again, the talking points out of the New Soviet Democratical Party's Politburo have been coming out in a sluggish fashion so more often now Rich is on his own with the predictably weak results.
Deals like this also always guarantee future deals like this because anytime any nation has one of their more nefarious types captured that nation simply grabs any nearby American to use as trading fodder.
And this comes right on the heels of Dementia Joe's handlers cutting a deal with the mastermind of 9-11....which comes right on the top of all of Iran's funding of its proxy terrorist amigos after receiving billions in cash from Dementia Joe' handlers.
As Rich acknowledges above, this certainly seems designed to help Harris and not Trump. The smart play for Trump would be to say that he's glad they're out, but that this also shows that Putin prefers dealing with the Democrats than with him.
guitar joe: "From the comments here, you'd think the WSJ is a left wing rag."
The WSJ has been slipping to the left for years and their anti-Musk/anti-Trump stances are becoming more pronounced. No doubt in accordance with what we have seen at Fox News given both are owned by Murdoch and Murdoch despises Trump and is no fan of Elon and wants a return to the McCain/Romney days.
It's only going to get worse when the old man kicks off after which the Murdoch boys will be taking all their media properties right over into CNN land...while trying to fool the rubes that they are still "conservative".
Note: its important to separate, historically and for now, the WSJ opinion, news and business sections. Those are different cats moving at different speeds in their evolution.
yes the so called news section, gave us fusion gps, with glenn simpson and evan perez, who led to the current brouhaha,
“What irks me about Rich's comment is the implication that we are better than they are.”
WE ARE. Interesting how many Russophiles there are in these comments sections. Imprisoning journalists must be a noble thing, eh?
@11:43, Drago tells guitar joe how and why he must conform to right think. Drago will set you straight.
“guitar joe: "From the comments here, you'd think the WSJ is a left wing rag."”
Russian intelligence sources must now be telling Putin that it is all but a certainty that Kamala Harris will be the next US president. That's why he did this prisoner exchange now. If he had thought that there was any reasonable chance of helping Trump, he would have delayed the swap. But Trump is going to lose and Putin does not want to be seen to be doing such a major deal with a woman on the other side. It makes him look weak in his own eyes.
Inga: "@11:43, Drago tells guitar joe how and why he must conform to right think. Drago will set you straight."
LOL
Another li'l hoax to make up for all your big hoaxes that exploded in your face.
And made even funnier by your hilarious over the top White Savior Karen white-splaining to the blacks what they are thinking just yesterday.
So yes, per usual, projection is a part of your usual schtick.
But you wouldn't be you if you weren't consistent!
Why it's like the Russkis are interfering in our election and supporting Team Harris-Biden!
Who knew?
Reporter: "President Trump has said repeatedly that he could've gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange..."
BIDEN: "Why didn't he do it when he was president?"
(Two of the three Americans were wrongfully detained during Biden's presidency)
White Savior Karen Inga: "WE ARE. Interesting how many Russophiles there are in these comments sections. Imprisoning journalists must be a noble thing, eh?"
Ask Julian Assange.
LLR-democratical Rich: "Russian intelligence sources must now be telling Putin that it is all but a certainty that Kamala Harris will be the next US president."
It is quite possible the Old Soviets see much similarity in the prospects of the corrupted New Soviet Democratical Party in the US.
So you may be right.
Take notice of the number of terrorists and America-hating foreign nationals that are being released from U.S. custody.
They are releasing enemy combatants that have previously attacked our country. It makes one think our government is encouraging/facilitating a major attack on our nation.
'From the comments here, you'd think the WSJ is a left wing rag.'
As a long-time subscriber, paying for 2 subscriptions, the WSJ has skewed increasingly left over the years.
Their opinion page has always been anti-Trump and pro open borders.
Blogger guitar joe said...
From the comments here, you'd think the WSJ is a left wing rag.
speaking as a WSJ subscriber (for the last 30 years)..
why YES, Yes the WSJ's news side IS a left wing rag. The editorial staff is HARD CORE GOPe
Both sides support the CIA..
Good God can the WSJ stop with the fucking propaganda and just tell it straight?
"Wrongly convicted"
"false allegation of espionge"
"hurried trial"
"Putin, a former KGB officer... steeped in the dark arts of entrapment"
"[Putin] seemed so loyal to the twice-married father of three that Western intelligence officials speculated that he had been Putin’s personal bodyguard; close Russia analysts suspected their ties dated back to the president’s time as deputy mayor of mafia-plagued St. Petersburg.
"professional killer"
"Hitman"
"murderer"
And then there's this odd statement:
"Ella was raised by a Jewish mother who had treated Holocaust survivors as a wartime nurse in Poland"
So, the Poles who weren't Jewish, didn't get any treatment? Or is it, they aren't worth mentioning?
Joe Smith: "As a long-time subscriber, paying for 2 subscriptions, the WSJ has skewed increasingly left over the years.
Their opinion page has always been anti-Trump and pro open borders."
Indeed. Its why I cancelled my subscription. I can get the left-aligned globalist out-source every American job and manufacturing capability opinions just about everywhere else so why purchase it?
BTW, I don't believe the WSJ reporter was some innocent naif just "lookin' into Russian tank production".
Imagine what would've happened to some Western "reporter" snooping around Soviet Tank factories during the Cold war!
It's nice to see Biden get a win for the USA. And I'm especially glad for Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich and their families.
this also shows that Putin prefers dealing with the Democrats than with him.
I would have gone with "Putin knows he'll get more from us while giving us less if he's negotiating with Democrats."
Or, more pithily, "Putin knows Biden will show him 'more flexibility' than Trump would."
Rich, where do you get the idea that Putin would prefer Trump? You seen to be all in on the "Trump and Putin sittin' in a tree" thing, it seems, but what makes you think that? Is it that Trump uses a compliment followed by a slap as a negotiating tactic, but you're only noticing the compliment?
It's nice to see Biden get a win for the USA. And I'm especially glad for Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich and their families.
I agree with the sentiment, but I'm still too ignorant of this deal to be sure that it's a "win for the USA." For the released Americans, yes.
Now free the Americans in American custody wrongly held, without trial, and pending conviction.
Russia seems to make out the best in the multi way deal- they gain depth and experience with hits and while we add to an already deep bench of propagandists, the current front office staff gets a victory and is less likely to be replaced in the voting season…
I suspect that Putin would rather see Kamala Harris in the White House than Donald Trump and that factored into the timing of this exchange.
The only question I have is what did the US promise Germany to get this deal done? We're not privy to the details: "To secure Germany's agreement to the prisoner swap, President Joe Biden made a personal appeal to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. During Scholz's visit to the White House on February 9, 2024, Biden asked Scholz to release Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian murderer serving a life sentence in Germany, as part of the arrangement. This direct request was pivotal, and Scholz made a personal promise to Biden to comply with the request. The success of this arrangement was heavily attributed to the strong diplomatic relationship and trust between Biden and Scholz."
"wrongly convicted"?
Look, I don't doubt that he was railroaded. But editorial adverbs don't belong in straight newswriting. "wrongly convicted", he wrote baselessly.
Why are US citizens in Russia?
Unless you have diplomatic immunity don’t go there.
Same for China, Iran, North Korea, etc.
These people go swim with the sharks and then get surprised when they get bitten.
"Russian intelligence sources must now be telling Putin that it is all but a certainty that Kamala Harris will be the next US president."
Possibly. I find it fascinating how poorly foreigners, even educated English-speakers, understand American politics. I would think it's from getting their news from sources that are basically propaganda outlets. CNN and the NYT and such.
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