President Biden Reaches Out To Brittney Griner's Camp Following Backlash For Limited Talks With Russia
WNBA star Brittney Griner, currently held by Russia's government, and her camp have increased outreach to the Biden administration in a request for aid and attention to bring BG back home.
After receiving a handwritten letter from Griner on the Fourth of July and watching wife Cherelle Griner appear on CBS Mornings on Tuesday to call out the White House for their inactivity on the matter, Biden and the team are finally putting themselves back in talks to retrieve Griner.
The White House released a statement on Wednesday noting that Biden spoke with Cherelle Griner after her sit-down with Gayle King on CBS and committed to working with Griner's family.
"The President called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney's release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world," the White House shared. "He also read her a draft of the letter the President is sending to Brittney Griner today."
"They're not moving, they're not doing anything," Cherelle said in her CBS interview.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defined Brittney's detainment in Russia, a result of getting caught in a Russian airport with vape cartridges containing hashish oils, as a priority for president Biden but did not cite any activity on that front.
"This has been top of mind for the president," Jean-Pierre shared during a briefing on Wednesday.
The State Department also spoke up this week to call the situation a "wrong detainment."
In her handwritten letter, Griner shared that she does not see a way out of Russia after 140 days of detainment and limited contact with the U.S. government.
Griner wrote, "As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I'm terrified I might be here forever."
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