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Wrongfully Detained Americans Arrive Home: Inside the Prisoner Swap

The GOATs: Biles and Ledecky win big in Paris

August 02, 2024

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TGFI! Inside the massive multi-country prisoner swap that brought WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan home to the US from Russia.

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Katie Ledecky’s 13 medals. The most decorated female US olympian ever. via NYT

Good morning,

Let’s go girls! Yesterday US gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Katie Ledecky both broke records in Paris.

  • Biles became just the third woman in history to win the women's individual all-around twice! And she secured her title as the most decorated American gymnast. At 27, she is also the first woman over age 20 to do it in the last 50 years.

    • She started strong with a massive 15.766 on vault, struggled on uneven bars briefly putting her in second place, but bounced back on beam and put up a massive performance on floor to win! Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade took second and American Suni Lee won bronze.

  • Ledecky won her 13th medal when grabbing the silver on the 4x200 relay team. That makes her the most decorated American female Olympian in history!

Have a great weekend!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to subscribe to the Mo Newsletter… you could get free Mo News merch — DETAILS at the bottom of this newsletter!

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📌 MASSIVE SEVEN COUNTRY PRISONER SWAP BRINGS WRONGLY DETAINED AMERICANS HOME

In the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War, three wrongly detained Americans are home. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were freed on Thursday from Russian captivity.

President Biden and VP Harris greeted them as they landed just before midnight at Joint Base Andrews.

  • The multi-country exchange involved 24 prisoners (and two children of Russian spies who were in foster care) who had been in seven different countries. It took place at an airport in Ankara, Turkey, after years of negotiations.

President Biden said the elaborate deal between the US, Germany, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Belarus and Russia demonstrates the importance of American allies and diplomacy.

THE ELABORATE OPERATION
“The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy,” Biden said, adding that it showed the importance of allies (Germany and others had to give up legitimately held Russian spies, hackers and assassins as part of the exchanges). It follows years of painstaking negotiations involving the leaders of multiple governments. The whole time, the families of the detainees never gave up their fight.

  • The tick tock: An hour before Biden announced he was going to step down from the 2024 presidential race— and while recovering from Covid-19— he called Slovenia’s prime minister to secure the pardons of two convicted Russian spies needed in the swap.

    • Germany and the US drafted the deal by paper, and hand-delivered copies from White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan's office to his counterpart in Germany.

  • The key to the deal: Vadim Krasikov. The Russian hit man was serving a life sentence in a German prison since he shot and killed a former Chechen rebel in broad daylight at a park in Berlin in 2019 on the order of the Kremlin. His release was critical to any deal.

    • Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview earlier this year that he was interested in freeing a “patriot” held in Germany.

  • It’s personal: In a thoroughly-reported piece on the exchange, the WSJ says that Gershkovich’s mother met with German Chancellor Scholz’s chief of staff seeking help in January. “You have the key,” she said.

    • That same day, Scholz and Biden met in the White House to discuss the matter. By Feb. 2, Scholz told Biden, “For you, I will do this.”

RELEASED BY RUSSIA
On the American side, those three American citizens were released along with US green card holder Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British-Russian dissident and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist. Here’s some info about the others:

  • Leaving Russia: Multiple people released from Russia worked with opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in February at an Arctic penal colony.

    • National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday that the US wanted Navalny to be a part of the exchange, before he died under mysterious circumstances.

  • Others include activists, opposition figures, a 19-year-old accused of taking photos of military sites, a lawyer and an artist.

    • Shooting his shot: When filling out a formal Russian clemency request to finalize his release, Gershkovich — ever the journalist — added a direct interview request for Putin.

  • Going Back To Russia: Other Russian prisoners being returned include a person at the center of a nearly $100 million hacking scheme, smugglers, and spies.

    Evan Gershkovich hugging his mother. Via Bloomberg News

HOW WE GOT HERE
Gershkovich, detained in March of last year while reporting, and Whelan, detained in 2018 while attending a friend’s wedding, both faced 16-year prison sentences in Russia on espionage charges.

  • Kurmasheva was charged with spreading false information after being detained in June of 2023 while visiting her aging mother and sentenced to 6.5 years in prison.

  • They were all sham trials, held in secret.

WIN FOR BIDEN
Biden took a dig at former President Trump on Thursday saying, “For anyone who questions [whether] allies matter: They do. They matter. And today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world.”

  • Trump has criticized US membership in NATO. The four countries that helped the US secure the deal are all members of the alliance with the US. He has also said that he would get a deal for detained Americans without a swap. Though, in several prisoner deals during his presidency, Trump did green light the return of Iranians, Houthis and Taliban prisoners for Americans.

  • Biden’s response to the fact that he got Whelan out: “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?”

✔︎ Mo News Reality Check: There are still more than 40 wrongly detained Americans across the world in over a dozen nations. Eight Americans are still detained in Russia.

Diane Foley, the founder of the Foley Foundation which advocates for US hostage prevention and release, advised, "We need Americans to be more aware — not afraid to go abroad because we need Americans out in the world. But we must be more aware of what countries are actually targeting, directly targeting US nationals.” She started the foundation after her son, journalist James Foley, was kidnapped in Syria in 2012 and killed by ISIS.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Senate GOP blocks bill aimed at expanding child tax credit (ABC NEWS)

📌 Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer rolls out 'No Kings Act' to eliminate presidential immunity (NBC NEWS)

📌 Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro becomes odds-on betting favorite to become Kamala Harris' vice president (USA TODAY) The Harris vetting team has met with 6 potential VP picks as the selection process nears its end (NBC NEWS)

📌 Sonya Massey’s mom called 911 to report her daughter was having a mental breakdown the day before she was killed (CNN)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Diplomatic efforts are underway to persuade Maduro to release Venezuela election vote tallies (AP)

📌 Hamas military leader Mohammad Deif, one of the architects of Oct. 7 attack, confirmed killed by Israel (NBC NEWS)

📌 'Enough is enough' : Nigerians take to street in protest over a cost-of-living crisis (NPR)

📌 British prime minister announces policing plan to deal with violence after fatal stabbing of girls (BBC)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 California wildfire activity is nearly 3,000% higher this year as "increasingly critical" conditions fan the Park Fire (CBS NEWS)

📌 Dow closes nearly 500 points lower Thursday as investors recession fears awaken (NBC NEWS)

📌 US proposes ban on airline fees for seating parents next to kids (NPR)

📌 Soaring coffee prices foretell a financial grind (REUTERS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 How Snoop Dogg became a fixture at the Paris Olympics (NBC)

📌 Cardi B reveals she's pregnant, expecting her third baby after filing for divorce from Offset (PEOPLE)

📌 Carrie Underwood joining ‘American Idol’ as judge, replacing Katy Perry (TODAY)

📌 Britney Spears memoir The Woman in Me headed to the big screen (GUARDIAN)

📌 Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s son Miles diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (CNN)

🎉 CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN WEEKEND

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✅ 4 hearing modes
✅ 2 in 1 UV cleaning case
✅ Nearly invisible design
✅ Feedback cancellation

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