You going to a foreign country as a foreign military personnel is very different than Griner being sponsored by oligarchs and being under their protection. The Russian legal system is not consistent. It's very discretionary and often is used for political means. So her carrying vape pens was something she was used to and had no problem with before when going through Russian airports due to selective enforcement. And again, Whelan has much greater incentive to presume innocence and plausible deniability.
maybe…Idk if she brought vape pens with her on all her previous trips to Russia and they didn’t care or it was no big deal, or she brought those vape pens with her to some previous place that wasn’t Russia where it was allowed, had left them in the bag, forgot, and then packed that bag up in a rush and brought it to Russia I’ve left stuff in travel bags that I forget about, then randomly discover while I’m on a trip…but I don’t vape so I never have to worry about that thing I left in a bag or suitcase and forgot being vape cartridges
The minute I step off base im just like any other american in a foreign country... I still have to obey their laws... The biggest difference is I have That Country Laws and also the UCMJ to obey... The fact is.. If she didn't have the vape she wouldn't be in the situation she was in.. T_Man
Do you even know Whelan isn't even denying he had a thumb drive with state secrets? You know what his defense is right? Plausible deniability. I don't know what you obsession is here with you explaining how you had to follow the UCMJ. I already know this. Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm saying that Russia has very selective enforcement and a lot of it is politically based selective enforcement. I'm saying that Griner was sponsored by an oligarch and was under their protection which means that she would be immune to those petty charges. Her mistake was not seeing the change in winds due to Putin invading a sovereign nation
So are u just not gonna admit that u did in fact claim that we hadn’t even attempted to make a swap for a white marine? I didn’t make it up, u posted those exact words for everyone to see pleading guilty to a crime because the courts are corrupt, and actually being guilty of what you’re charged with are 2 completely different things Whalen went over there and was found guilty of being a spy…never see any talk of personal responsibility for him tho…dude was even court martialed while in the marines, and hardly a peep…he’s just the lovable white veteran…same with Reed never heard any “do the crime, do the time” talk with Reed
If Whalen is a spy they he has to pay for his crime.. I agreed with O's on that.... Just like Griner should do her crime and like Viktor should do his crime... Yeah I misspoke on that one.. But I will stick to my guns and say that SWAP should have never been made... T_Man
No her mistake was having the vape in the first place in a country where it's against the law... Has nothing to Whelan or anything else... T_Man
"Sticking to your guns" isn't an honorable trait. When being consistently wrong and corrected by people you are debating, that's when one would need some basic introspection skills to realize that mauve they jumped into a conversation without being informed enough to be so confident as you are. The ability to change one's mind based on new information is more admirable.
Do you know Whelan isn't lying? How do you know that? Of course Russia could lie about him being a spy, but maybe he isn't as innocent as he claims. The man was dishonorably discharged from the Marines for larceny. He had a Russian Facebook account, made numerous trips to Russia, and had lots of Russian male friends, many of which were military. Maybe he was set up, and maybe he wasn't. Who really knows. What I do know is he he was a thief while serving his country. Maybe he is innocent, but you take your chances infiltrating with lots of Russians, and especially their military. We know how ruthless those soldiers are by the war crimes they have been committing against women, children, and babies in Ukraine. Maybe they knew he was dishonorably discharged for theft and lured him in. Maybe they used him as a pawn or maybe they used him to get info. We don't know. Maybe he made himself the perfect mark to be used and to plant evidence on. As for Griner, maybe pressure came from Russia sports advocates too. WNBA stars don't make millions here like in men's sports. She might have been a star here, but she only made $225,000 as one of the best in her sport in this country. That's like a minimum bench player nobody in men's sports. She made a lot more playing her off-season in Russia the past seven seasons, where she earned over $1 million per season while playing for UMKC Ekaterinburg. That's why she travelled to Russia. She was stupid to not make sure she was carrying vape cartridges to a country that bans them. Real stupid. That being said, Russia is bound to make a deal for the lesser of the two crimes they were charged with. As for her "star status" like you said....Come on Man. She was compensated better in Russia for her talent than this country. By the way, they did offer making that same trade for Wheelan before, but Trump turned it down. Now they want to play hardball and use him as leverage to squeeze out more Russian criminals in a deal for him.
So then left up to u, all these Americans should just rot in a foreign Russian prison on outrageous sentences? If this were your loved one, you’d have this same “do the crime, do the time” energy? if u think the swap was too lopsided and shouldn’t have been made, then ok, that’s fine Reed wasn’t black or a celebrity, Biden got him out…If Whelan had been found guilty of having a few vape pens and Griner was the foreign spy, guess who’d be coming home right now?
If you commit a crime in ANY country you have to pay the penalty.... Doesn't matter if it's my love one.. Hell I have relatives in jail now for crimes they committed.. They made their decision and they have to pay the consequences... The SWAP should never have happen... T_Man
the arms dealer for Whelan was a nonstarter for the Trump admin who after over a year of being in prison, hadn’t even designated Whelan as a wrongful detainee…nobody had any outrage back then tho the arms dealer alone was a nonstarter, but Russia wasn’t even asking for just Viktor Bout in return, they were asking for 2 others in addition to Bout just for Whelan…and that was before the war and everything else that’s transpired since just goes to show u how big of a deal being found guilty of espionage is
You repeat the same premise while never addressing the points people make. Yes we know. Follow the law. You've repeated this same premise 20 times without addressing any points you are replying to.
So u were mad we left the white veteran found guilty of espionage for what reason? He was found guilty of being a spy, he should just stay there and do the time according to u u even posted this The only reason why Griner is being let go is due to the fact that all of these celebrities have come out to say it's wrong for her to be in jail... NO it's not wrong she broke the law So I’m sure u had this same energy when we got Reed out who also broke the law in Russia? I doubt it
Exactly.... Follow the law.. What's your point.... Griner - If she did not have the vape she would not be in jail... Reed - If he had not hit the officer he would not be in jail... Whelan - If he had committed espionage he would not be in jail... T_Man
Again.. I was pissed that they made the SWAP in the first place... Don't know how many times I have too keep saying that.... T_Man
I just don't understand why you keep replying with the same exact sentence to people making different points. Taylor your responses to the comment you are replying to or else it just looks like you are regurgitating your premise.
Not once have you addressed the points people made like how Bout was given a minimum sentence and already served most of his time and was going to be naturally released. You completely ignore the points about selective enforcement. You come in all hot and bothered with incorrect information like saying the Biden administration said no to Whelan for Bout or pretending it was an either or scenario where people had to correct you multiple times. Quite frankly, your headstrong natural here crashing into a conversation you had little info about makes you not credible.
