Former National Security Adviser Makes Claim About Russia, Paul Whelan Deal Under Trump

Former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser revealed that Russians previously appeared willing to release retired Marine Paul Whelan.

Robert O’Brien told The Hill the Russians went back on an agreement that would have freed Whelan and Trevor Reed after President Joe Biden was announced as the winner of the 2020 election.

“Once we lost the election, the Russians lost all interest” in discussions with the administration, according to O’Brien.

The former adviser said he felt he received a commitment from Russian National Security Adviser Nikolai Patrushev to free both Whelan and Reed in “exchange for scheduling summits between Washington and Moscow that the Kremlin sought,” as The Hill reported.

The outlet noted Patrushev met with O’Brien in October 2020, however, O’Brien said they did not have a discussion about a prisoner swap or the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

“Without getting into the details, there were further summit meetings the Russians wanted to have that would have required improvement in relations,” O’Brien said.

He added, “And my position was, if you want to improve relations with us, you cannot keep Whelan and Reed.”

Earlier this week, Trump shared a post on Truth Social about turning down a deal to free Whelan.