'Are We Paying Them Cash?' - Trump Demands Details of US-Russia Prisoner Exchange

Former President and current US presidential candidate Donald Trump called for the White House to provide detailed information on his TruthSocial site about the August 1 prisoner exchange deal involving Russia, the US, Germany, and other Western nations.

Trump alleged that the American government might have paid for the deal and then went into “attack mode.”

“So, when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Are they giving us cash (Please withdraw that question, because I’m sure the answer is NO)?” he wrote.

“Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps,” Trump added.

Trump criticized American negotiators while boasting of his own record of returning hostages “without any financial concessions.”

“I returned many hostages and did not give anything to another country for it — and never any money,” he said.

He warned that, in his opinion, paying for prisoner exchanges sets a bad precedent and leads to further exploitation.

“They are extorting the United States of America. They’re calling the trade ‘complex’ – That’s so nobody can figure out how bad it is!” he wrote.

The US political analysis site The Hill reported that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan responded to Trump’s comments during a White House briefing on Thursday evening, insisting that no money was paid and current sanctions were not impacted as part of the deal.

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In what some are calling the largest prisoner exchange since World War II, Russia traded 16 hostages from Western countries for 10 of its own, two of whom were minors, on Thursday afternoon, August 1, in Ankara. The swap was apparently coordinated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

There had been rumors of a possible exchange for several weeks suggesting that discussions between the White House and the Kremlin via intermediaries were ongoing, but both sides held details close to their chests. It has even alleged that agreement in principle had been reached earlier but were cancelled after the death in prison of Alexey Navalny who would have been included in the swap – some even saying he was murdered at President Putin’s instigation to prevent his release.

There had been no public announcement of where and when yesterday’s exchange would take place until the aircraft landed in Turkey’s capital.

Trump’s criticism is hardly surprising as he has frequently ridiculed Biden’s administration in failing to secure the release of Americans detained in Russia, specifically the journalist Gershkovich who had been detained in Russia for more than a year.

Asked about Trumps claims he would have brought the detainees home without giving anything to Russia, Biden replied: “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?”