Former President Donald Trump said he had previously turned down a prisoner swap deal with Russia, saying he couldn’t have former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan home but allow out convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who has “killed untold numbers.”
“I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan. I wouldn’t have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Dec. 11.
Bout, 55, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to a Colombian terrorist group committed to killing Americans, was freed on Dec. 8 in exchange for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, 32….