WNBA | Brittney Griner’s plea for help from Russia ‘very personal’ to Biden: White House

American basketball star Brittney Griner, who was arrested on February 17 on charges of possessing cannabis oil, had written to U. S. President Joe Biden pleading for help. The White House has confirmed he has read it

Brittney Griner's appeal to President Joe Biden in a handwritten letter continued to garner reaction Tuesday after the WNBA All-Star acknowledged she feared never returning home and asked Mr. Biden not “forget about me and the other American Detainees.”

Ms. Griner's letter was delivered through her representatives to the White House on Monday and officials say the president has read it. However Ms. Griner's wife, Cherelle, said Tuesday on a morning talk show that she hadn't heard from Mr. Biden.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked repeatedly about Griner on Tuesday during the regular briefing. She said Mr. Biden read the letter, but she did not detail his reaction. “This is very personal to him,” she said.

Ms. Jean-Pierre did not say whether there were plans for Mr. Biden to speak with Ms. Griner’s family, but did say that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken both spoke to Griner’s wife recently.

Ms. Jean-Pierre said Mr. Biden wanted to get Ms. Griner and other Americans home. “We are going to use every tool we possibly can to make that happen,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

Ms. Griner is in the midst of a trial in Russia that began last week after she was arrested on February 17 on charges of possessing cannabis oil while returning to play for her Russian team. The trial will resume Thursday.

Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and unlike in U. S. courts, acquittals can be overturned. Ms. Griner’s representatives Monday shared a few excerpts from her letter to the president.