Convicted Russian criminal Alexander Vinnik being freed as part of swap for American Marc Fogel
Everybody knows Mark. He’s become *** very famous guy. He’s *** very happy guy tonight, so it’s, uh, it’s just *** real honor, an honor to have you at the White House. I, I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now. And uh I want you to know that I am not *** hero in this at all. And President Trump is *** hero. These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes. The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes. Uh, I’m in awe of what they all did. Uh, my family has been *** force. I think my 95 year old mother is probably The most dynamic 95 year old on earth right now. And uh I am so indebted to so many people. I, I think I remember *** *** Churchill quote that he said when the RAF was fighting the Luftwaffe and he said that uh never have so many owed so much. To so few and I put myself fortunately and unfortunately into that category and I said never has one owed so much to so many that this super organism of people that came to my support. And the love that I was given. Sustain sustained me for 3.5 years in *** prison that had me in hospitals for more than 100 days. I was given more than 400 injections in that time and knowing I had the support of my fellow Pennsylvanians, my family, my friends. Uh, it was so overwhelming that, uh, Uh, it brought me to my knees and it brought me to tears, but it was, uh, it was my energy, it was my Being that that kept me going that whole time and I will forever be indebted. President Trump. To Steve over there, what *** dynamic man this guy is. When I met him, the energy, the can-do attitude just. Exudes from his body and when he smiled at me and introduced me and I got the feel for what has happened, you know, it’s not just me, it’s, it’s everybody and and Secretary Rubio, who met my son *** while back. Uh, I, I, I’m. I’m *** middle class school teacher who’s now. Mm In *** *** dream world We’re gonna show you the Lincoln bedroom in *** little while. It’s *** very special, special place appropriate for today, very appropriate. And um Thank you all and I love our country. And I’m so happy to be back here. And I wish I could articulate it better. You’ve done beautifully and uh he’s got *** great mother, and when I saw the mother at *** rally, she said, would you, if you win, will you get my son out? And I promise she’s 95 years old. And I said we’ll get them out and we got them out pretty quickly. She told me that that exact words she made quite an impression, and you also did and uh I’m I’m in awe of what you’ve done and your team. It’s great to have you back and have *** great life. Did you speak to President Putin? Well, I don’t want to say that. I just want to say that I appreciate very much what they did and letting Mark go home. And uh I appreciate Steve Witkoff, the job he did in Marco behind the scenes was unbelievable. And so many of these people were unbelievable. They, they represent him. They’re from his area, uh, and, uh, we, we just wanted to get him back home. I, I had to get him back home because I would have big trouble with his mother and, and we’re gonna take him for *** little tour of the Lincoln bedroom which nobody gets to see. And it’s very special. Do you want to see it? I would love to, and I, I also should make mention that that President Putin was very generous and statesmanlike in granting me uh uh *** pardon. I, I mean. What were the terms of this deal, Mr. President? Very fair, very, very fair, very reasonable, not like deals you’ve seen over the years. They were very fair. And I think that’s gonna lead and we’re somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of, but we wanted to get this done very important, and Steve wanted to actually fly over and get Mark and get him home properly because it could be *** pretty tough trip. So is this the beginning of *** deal, I think there’s goodwill in terms of the war, you know, 1.5 million soldiers, young people have been killed. I’ve met many of them. Yeah, and it’s uh it’s *** terrible thing going on so we want to get that done. I think, I think this could be the very important element. You could be *** big part of it actually because it could be *** big important part of getting the war over with Ukraine. And we appreciate President Putin’s, uh, what he, what he did. He was, uh, able to pull it off for you, right? He was able to pull it off, we, we think, and you’re here, I’m here, so it was great. Uh, we’ll tell you *** little bit more about it tomorrow, but I think we’ve made great progress, progress on the war also getting the war. I want to get the war ended that war should not have been. It would have never happened if I was president. It would not have happened. And it did happen and now you have all blown up cities and dead people, uh, so many dead people should have never ever happened and, uh, you could be *** big catalyst for Just this evening it’s *** very important evening for ending that war, and I think they all want to see it ended. How does it change your perspective on Putin and I don’t want to get into that. I only can say this, we got *** man home whose mother and family wanted him desperately, whose state wanted him. He’s, he’s become *** big symbol. And uh it’s an honor to have played *** small role in that and I just uh I wanna tell you these people they, they all played *** role and we got him home and he’s he’s healthy. It looks good actually to me you look damn good I’ll tell you that. I think we’ll expect. that helps *** little bit, you know, I think I need *** little bit of time to sort of digest all of that. There were times when It was extremely trying, there were times when I could manage it, but I, I think I need some more time to You know, it wasn’t, it wasn’t easy, right? It wasn’t easy. Every second, every minute, every day had *** challenge, but you’re, but you’re in good shape. I mean compare that to what we saw two days ago come home. They were very, very ill. Those people are very ill. They were treated really badly. Mr. President, your predecessor left you almost $4 billion in unused, uh, aid for Ukraine to Ukraine. Are you gonna use those money? Are you gonna see my predecessor should have had this gentleman out *** long time ago. You know, we did it in 2.5 weeks. He’s, he had 4 years to do it. He should have had Mark out *** lot earlier. It’s uh it’s *** shame, it’s *** shame. It was very, you should have had never had the war to start off with. Should have never had that war would have never happened to president, but he should have had him back 3.5 years ago, so it was, it was too bad, but he didn’t do it, but we did it. Thank you all very much. Thank you very much.
Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of a swap that saw Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel, two U.S. officials confirmed Wednesday.Related video above: Marc Fogel returns to the U.S.Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is currently in custody in California awaiting transport to return to Russia, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the swap.The Kremlin said Wednesday that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Fogel but refused to identify him until he arrived in Russia.President Donald Trump welcomed Fogel, who’s from Pennsylvania, at the White House Tuesday evening after his return to U.S. soil.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.The Kremlin said Wednesday that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel, but refused to identify him until he arrives in Russia.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the unidentified individual would return to Russia “in the coming days,” and his name would be revealed when he returns home — unlike during past prisoner exchanges between Moscow and Washington, when Russians and Americans were released simultaneously and their identities were revealed right away.”Recently, work has been intensified through the relevant agencies, there have been contacts,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “And these contacts have led to the release of Fogel, as well as one of the citizens of the Russian Federation, who is currently being held in custody in the United States. This citizen of the Russian Federation will also be returned to Russia in the coming days.”Asked by reporters if the Russian released as part of the deal could be Alexander Vinnik, Peskov said that the name of the man being freed would be announced upon his return. Vinnik, arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges. was later extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov demurred when asked to elaborate on the deal that led to Fogel’s release, saying that such contacts “love silence” and deploring that Washington rushed to announce Fogel’s release.”Our American colleagues have chosen to announce the results, we have a different approach to the agreements reached,” he said. “For efficient diplomacy, we prefer to observe confidentiality agreements.”Fogel, an American history teacher who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, has been released and was returned to the U.S. on Tuesday in what the White House described as a diplomatic thaw that could advance negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine. Fogel was arrested in August 2021 and was serving a 14-year prison sentence.Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, left Russia with Fogel and brought him to the White House, where Trump greeted him. Fogel, who is from Pennsylvania, was expected to be reunited with his family.Trump declined to say if he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Fogel and didn’t say what the United States provided in exchange for Fogel’s release.Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Fogel’s release could help anchor a peace deal on Ukraine, saying: “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”The Kremlin was more cautious, but it also noted that the deal could help strengthen mutual trust.”Such agreements can hardly serve as a turning point, but they are little steps toward building mutual confidence, which is at its lowest level,” Peskov said.
Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of a swap that saw Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel, two U.S. officials confirmed Wednesday.
Related video above: Marc Fogel returns to the U.S.
Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is currently in custody in California awaiting transport to return to Russia, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the swap.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Fogel but refused to identify him until he arrived in Russia.
President Donald Trump welcomed Fogel, who’s from Pennsylvania, at the White House Tuesday evening after his return to U.S. soil.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel, but refused to identify him until he arrives in Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the unidentified individual would return to Russia “in the coming days,” and his name would be revealed when he returns home — unlike during past prisoner exchanges between Moscow and Washington, when Russians and Americans were released simultaneously and their identities were revealed right away.
“Recently, work has been intensified through the relevant agencies, there have been contacts,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “And these contacts have led to the release of Fogel, as well as one of the citizens of the Russian Federation, who is currently being held in custody in the United States. This citizen of the Russian Federation will also be returned to Russia in the coming days.”
Asked by reporters if the Russian released as part of the deal could be Alexander Vinnik, Peskov said that the name of the man being freed would be announced upon his return. Vinnik, arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges. was later extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov demurred when asked to elaborate on the deal that led to Fogel’s release, saying that such contacts “love silence” and deploring that Washington rushed to announce Fogel’s release.
“Our American colleagues have chosen to announce the results, we have a different approach to the agreements reached,” he said. “For efficient diplomacy, we prefer to observe confidentiality agreements.”
Fogel, an American history teacher who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, has been released and was returned to the U.S. on Tuesday in what the White House described as a diplomatic thaw that could advance negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine. Fogel was arrested in August 2021 and was serving a 14-year prison sentence.
Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, left Russia with Fogel and brought him to the White House, where Trump greeted him. Fogel, who is from Pennsylvania, was expected to be reunited with his family.
Trump declined to say if he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Fogel and didn’t say what the United States provided in exchange for Fogel’s release.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Fogel’s release could help anchor a peace deal on Ukraine, saying: “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”
The Kremlin was more cautious, but it also noted that the deal could help strengthen mutual trust.
“Such agreements can hardly serve as a turning point, but they are little steps toward building mutual confidence, which is at its lowest level,” Peskov said.
