Following the conviction of Brittney Griner, conservatives join Trump in siding with Russia.

Brittney Griner, a player for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), waits for the decision inside a defendants' cage during a hearing in Khimki outside of Moscow on August 4, 2022. Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis.

On Thursday, Brittney Griner was convicted responsible for importing illicit drugs into Russia and was given a nine-year prison term. Griner testified in court that she smoked marijuana for therapeutic purposes, which is acceptable in the US and other nations. She was found in possession of less than a gram of marijuana oil.

Right-wingers are now celebrating the decision on social media in line with the Russian state, which found no sympathy for WNBA star and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner. Former President Trump recently attacked Griner, calling her "a potentially spoiled person" who went to Russia "loaded up with drugs."

Dinesh D'Souza, a right-wing author, exploited the conviction to support those who attempted to overthrow the U.S. government on January 6. According to D'Souza, "it appears that the Russians are treating Griner the same way that the Biden administration is treating non-violent January 6 protestors." It's difficult for us to act outrage when the same thing is happening here,

The top diplomats of the United States and Russia declared on Friday that their governments were prepared to negotiate for the release of both Paul N. Whelan and Brittney Griner, an American basketball player who had been condemned to a Russian penal colony.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken both stated during separate press conferences that the discussions would take place through a channel already established by their respective presidents.

However, the fact that the two men made their remarks while seated next to one another but remaining silent during a gathering of foreign ministers from East Asia and partner nations may be a sign of how tight the relations between the two nations are.

According to sources involved with the plan, the Biden administration has proposed releasing Viktor Bout, an imprisoned Russian weapons trader, in exchange for Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was found guilty of espionage in 2020 by a court in Moscow.

Following the meeting on Friday, Mr. Lavrov made a point of teasing Mr. Blinken for failing to make an attempt to speak with him.

At a press conference that was carried live by the Foreign Ministry, Mr. Lavrov stated, "Today, there was only one person between us at the table." I missed him attempting to catch me, she said.

Mr. Blinken emphasized that conversations will continue through already established channels when questioned about Mr. Lavrov's statements and Ms. Griner's conviction.

As you are aware, we made a significant proposition that Russia should discuss with us, Mr. Blinken stated. They are willing to interact through the channels we've set up to do precisely that, and we'll be pursuing it, Foreign Minister Lavrov declared this morning in public.

The United States has come under fire from Russian officials for allegedly conducting the prisoner swap in public.

Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, reiterated that critique on Friday. If we begin discussing the specifics of the trade in the media, Mr. Peskov told reporters in Moscow, "These exchanges will never take place."

Russian authorities have stated that the legal system must be followed before engaging in any exchanges, although throwing out hints that this may be the case. Ms. Griner's attorneys declared they will appeal the sentence after hearing the judgment on Thursday, which would postpone the beginning of her stay in a penitentiary colony.

Could the United States obtain Brittney Griner in exchange for the infamous "Merchant of Death" Russian arms dealer?

In the US' proposed exchange of notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, According to many people familiar with the conversations with CNN, Russian government officials insisted that a former colonel from their domestic espionage service who was convicted of murder in Germany last year be included.

Through an unofficial backchannel established by the FSB espionage agency, the Russians told the US early this month that they wanted Vadim Krasikov released, the sources claimed. Zelimkhan "Tornike" Khangoshvili, a former Chechen warrior, was murdered in Berlin's Kleiner Tiergarten in 2019. Krasikov was found guilty of the crime in December and given a life sentence.

The fact that Krasikov is still being held by the German government was one of several issues with the request, according to the people who spoke to CNN. As a result, and because the request was made through the FSB backchannel rather than informally, the US administration did not see it as a valid rebuttal to the US' offer, which was first made public by CNN on Wednesday.

The Biden administration has been keen to return Griner and Whelan to the US, as seen by the undercover inquiries US officials made to the Germans about whether they could be willing to include Krasikov in the swap, according to a senior German government source who spoke to CNN. A US official described the communication as a status check on Krasikov.

According to the German source, the discussions never reached the highest echelons of the German administration, and Krasikov's inclusion in a hypothetical transaction has not been given serious consideration. However, the previously undisclosed conversations show that Russian officials had at least partially discussed the US idea.

Even if the request was not made through official channels, the FSB is an integral element of the Russian security system and has a wide range of authority. Vladimir Putin, the current president of Russia, was a well-known KGB agent.

After this report was published, Adrienne Watson, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told CNN that "It is not a genuine counter-offer to keep two unjustly detained Americans hostage in exchange for the release of a Russian assassin held in a third country's custody. It is an ill-intentioned attempt to get out of the bargain that Russia ought to accept."

John Kirby, the National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, echoed Watson in an interview with CNN's Jim Sciutto on "Erin Burnett OutFront" and called Russia's plan a "bad faith attempt to evade a very serious proposition." We encourage Russia to consider that offer seriously, he continued.

When asked by Sciutto if this development means that discussions are at a standstill, Kirby said that he would not characterize the present state of affairs in that manner.

"It's just that they haven't been open to seriously or even faithfully considering the offer we made. I wouldn't say that it stagnated. We really hope that Paul and Brittney return to their families, where they belong. They are being held there unlawfully. And we'll simply keep working on it "said Kirby.

When asked for comment, a State Department representative told CNN that "we're not going to comment publicly on any conjecture" in order to "preserve the greatest possibility for a successful resolution." In order to expedite the release of Griner and Whelan, the US "placed a major proposal on the table weeks ago," according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. "Our governments have directly and frequently communicated on that proposition," he continued.

Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, and Blinken discussed the planned trade on Friday. Blinken described their chat as "honest and forthright."

I pleaded with the Kremlin to accept the important offering we made about the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, Blinken stated.

Lavrov "seriously advised" to Blinken, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, that the United States should resume "calm diplomacy" in regards to a potential prisoner swap "without speculative information stuffing."

According to many sources who spoke to CNN, even if it isn't Krasikov, the Russians will probably seek the release of two other inmates in return for Griner and Whelan. Russian government representatives have made it known recently that they wish to see Bout and Roman Seleznev, a hacker convicted and presently serving a 27-year term in the US, released.