Nobody is ‘doing backflips’: White House defends Griner swap with Russian arms dealer Bout

WASHINGTON – The White House said Sunday that Paul Whelan was never part of the deal in the prisoner exchange that freed basketball player Brittney Griner for arms dealer Viktor Bout.

White House spokesman John Kirby said Sunday that the deal had always been between swapping Griner and Bout.

“It was never a choice posed by the Russians, ‘Well, hey, you give us Bout back and then you can decide whether you want Brittney or Paul,” Kirby said on "Fox News Sunday." “That was never the arrangement.”

“It was only Ms. Griner for Mr. Bout,” Kirby added.

Griner, a WNBA All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was detained in February after police found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. She was convicted Aug. 4 following a trial and sentenced nine years in prison for the canisters.

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After facing months of pressure to bring Griner home, Biden announced Thursday that Griner was on a plane back to the United States after a deal was struck with Russia.

“She's safe. She's on a plane. She's on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia held under intolerable circumstances,” Biden said Thursday. “Brittany will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along.”

Biden, however, is facing backlash by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers for agreeing with the deal to let Bout be released.

Kirby pushed back against criticism on Sunday, saying the Biden administration made a national security assessment where it believes that “whatever risk there is was manageable and OK to make this deal.”

“Nobody over the White House is doing backflips of joy that he is walking the streets,” Kirby said. “But this was the deal we could get. Now is the moment we could get it.”

The Biden administration is also trying to bring home Whelan, after negotiations to bring him and Griner home together failed.

Roger Carstens, special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, said Sunday morning “there’s always cards” in the negotiations for Russia to release Paul Whelan, an ex-marine currently imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges.

More: Prisoner swap negotiations with Russia over Brittney Griner were 'painstaking, extraordinary'

'Still a hostage': Critics slam Biden over Griner prisoner swap that left Paul Whelan in Russia

“These negotiations because they’re ongoing, we usually have to keep our cards close to our chest,” Carstens said on CNN’s "State of the Union." “There’s always cards.”

After the exchange between Griner and Bout was announced, Whelan told CNN that he was “greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release.”

Carstens defended the prisoner swap, who said he explained to Whelan that the only option was a one-for-one trade between Griner and Bout.

“This was a case that was either one or none,” said Carstens. “We weren’t able to get you out of this go-round. We could not get the deal with the Russians. But had we not made it Brittney would not have come home.”

Kirby: White House isn’t telling social media companies how to manage content

Kirby on Sunday also said that the Biden administration isn’t directing private social media companies on how to manage their content.

In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," Kirby noted that they do not want to see social media websites “polluted with hate speech and disinformation,” but that it’s up to the private companies to make their own decisions.

“It's up to these social media companies to determine how they're going to manage their content and how they are going to deliver that content to their users,” Kirby said.

Kirby’s comments come after Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, has promoted several tweets, including ones by journalist Matt Taibbithat shows Twitter executives struggled with handling tweets surrounding a report on Hunter Biden's laptop before the 2020 presidential election as the company took steps to block it.

USA TODAY was unable to verify the authenticity of screenshots of emails and other documents that form the bulk of Taibbi's reporting.

Sanders on Sinema’s party switch: ‘Nothing much has changed’

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema’s decision to leave the Democratic Party and register as an independent was based on her “political aspirations.”

“I think it really has to do with her political aspirations for the future in Arizona,” said Sanders on CNN’s "State of the Union."

Prior to her decision, Sinema was facing a likely primary challenge from Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who has criticized her for her centrist positions. Registered as an independent, Sinema would dodge a primary selection process.

Democratic senators, while disappointed in Sinema’s departure, have expressed optimism about their newly expanded 51-49 majority in the Senate. “Nothing much has changed in terms of the functioning of the U.S. Senate,” Sanders said.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said that Sinema's decision came as a surprise but that it didn’t change the Democratic majority.

“Functionally, I don’t think that changes a thing,” said Tester on NBC’s "Meet the Press." “I think we’re going to continue doing the same thing that we were doing, whether she was independent or part of the Democratic caucus, because she’s going to caucus with the Democrats.”

Looking at the 2024 election cycle when Sinema is up for reelection, Tester said he had “no bones to pick with Kyrsten Sinema,” and that he thought “she’s served this country well.”

Sanders thought otherwise, calling Sinema a “corporate Democrat,” and saying he “will take a hard look at” supporting a progressive candidate in Arizona.

Jon Tester undecided on 2024 reelection bid

Democrats are facing a brutal Senate election map in 2024 when they will be defending 23 out of 33 seats up for reelection. One of those seats is in deep red Montana, which Tester represents as a Democrat.

Tester said he is still undecided about a reelection bid but had confidence in what could be a tough race.

"It'll be a discussion that I have with my family over the holidays because it is a big undertaking," Tester said on "Meet the Press." "I feel good about my chances."

Contributing: Joey Garrison, Bailey Schulz, Jessica Guynn

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brittney Griner: White House says Paul Whelan negotiations ongoing