CNN Exclusive: Biden administration offers convicted Russian arms dealer in exchange for Griner, Whelan
CNN
After months of internal debate, the Biden administration has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year US prison sentence, as part of a potential deal to secure the release of two Americans held by Russia, Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, according to people briefed on the matter.
These sources told CNN that the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner received the backing of President Joe Biden after being under discussion since earlier this year. Biden's support for the swap overrides opposition from the Department of Justice, which is generally against prisoner trades.
"We communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of conversations with the Russians," a senior administration official told CNN Wednesday. "We communicated that a number of weeks ago, in June."
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is bringing the name Bragg back to one of the Army’s largest bases, Fort Liberty, which replaced the namesake of a Confederate general in 2023.
At least 1 dead and several injured after a private jet crashed into another upon arrival in Arizona
At least one person is dead and several injured after a midsized business jet crashed into another jet as it arrived at Scottsdale Municipal Airport in Arizona Monday afternoon.
President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who was convicted and sentenced to prison on corruption charges surrounding his time in office.
The Department of Justice is moving to drop the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, according to a memo obtained by CNN.
Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and others in the Trump administration are openly challenging the centuries-old power of the nation’s judiciary, foreshadowing a possible constitutional breakdown of American government.
President Donald Trump is removing the head of the Office of Government Ethics from his post, the agency said Monday – the latest example of Trump acting against a government watchdog.
The Trump administration’s dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and its sweeping freeze on foreign assistance has made it more difficult to track potential misuse of US taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance, meaning it could end up unintentionally going to terrorist groups, according to a new report from the agency’s independent watchdog.
A federal judge has for now extended a pause on the deadline set by the Trump administration for federal workers to accept a deferred resignation offer and temporarily prohibited the government from soliciting more so-called buyouts.
As GOP hardliners spent the weekend pushing party leaders to cut deeper into Medicaid in an effort to advance Donald Trump’s tax and border agenda, swing-district Republicans have been warning the president directly that it would cost him control of the House.
The Super Bowl halftime performer who unfurled Sudanese and Palestinian flags in an apparent protest action in New Orleans Sunday night will be banned for life from all NFL stadiums and events, an NFL spokesperson told CNN.
President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans may no longer be pushing to wholly repeal Obamacare, but big cuts to the nation’s health system are still on the table.
At least 30 people died and more were injured in Guatemala City on Monday morning after a bus traveling on a busy highway fell off a bridge, a spokesperson for the city’s fire department said.
California man finds 525-pound animal under his home after Los Angeles fires. The bear goes by Barry
A Southern California man returned home after evacuating last month’s devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires to discover an unexpected resident lurking beneath it.