FITTON: Biden and Harris are Abandoning an American in Russia! | Judicial Watch

Like most Americans, I’m thrilled that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerskovich and retired Marine Paul Whelan are home, back where they belong, in the United States. I’m sure you can imagine how dangerous and oppressive Russian prisons are, and no American should be wrongfully detained there. On this show, we have multiple times reported about the plight of Gerskovich, Whelan, and others including Trevor Reed, and WNBA star Brittany Griner. You may recall on February 17, 2022, Griner was arrested at a Russian airport in charge with drug smuggling. We reported at least 25 times about Griner, urging her release.

I tell you the number of those segments we did about Griner simply to show our level of passion about Americans being held in Russian prisons. On December 8, 2022, about nine months after arrest, Griner was released. She was swapped by Russia for Russian Victor Boot, who was in prison here in the United States. Boot, an international arms dealer, and whose nickname is Merchant of Death, was convicted in the United States in 2012 for conspiracy to kill Americans and U.S. officials. Many believe that swap was a high price to pay, but our country wanted her home. The reason? No American should be left to rot in a Russian prison.

But what about New Jersey musician Jimmy Willegas and Thomas Swally? We have reported about those two Americans many times. Jimmy and Thomas are in the same Russian prison as Paul Whelan was. Jimmy since 2016 and Thomas since 2017. Regrettably, our government is not helping Jimmy or Thomas get home. The neglect is obvious. Consider this. A few months ago, U.S. Ambassador Russia Lynn Tracy went to the prison to meet with Paul Whelan. She didn’t bother to meet with Jimmy or Thomas, even though they’re in the same prison. So, yes, the United States has left Jimmy and Thomas behind.

They are forgotten Americans, and not just forgotten by our government, but forgotten or ignored by almost every news organization. Gershkovich works for the Wall Street Journal, and every news organization reported about his arrest, his trial, and now his release. Why did he get the media’s attention? I suspect it, in part, because Gershkovich is a journalist. He’s one of us. So, as arrest hit home with fellow journalists, they reported about him placing that all-important spotlight on his detention. And I’m sure working for a powerful newspaper like the Wall Street Journal, that daily reports on the White House help get the White House to move to help bring Gershkovich home where he belongs.

Let me repeat, I’m thrilled he’s home, but at the same time, I’m disappointed in my fellow journalists. And in our government, I’m disappointed for forgetting and ignoring Jimmy and Thomas. They’re not nobodies. No American in a Russian prison is a nobody. They’re fellow Americans languishing in a Russian prison for many, many years, and they need our help. And as many of you know, Jimmy does call me often from the Russian prison. He called me this morning. We’ve seen Trevor Reed, Brittany Grider, Paul Whelan, and Evan Gershkovich get prioritized and taken home. We’re happy for them, but we feel abandoned by our own country.

All American citizens still detained in Russian prisons are wrongfully detained. We all deserve equal treatment as promised by the U.S. Constitution, and we all need to be safely backed with American soil now. Thank you. Tom Finn, President of Judicial Watch, joins me. Tom, you have sued the State Department over Jimmy Wilgus. What do you want from the State Department? We want to know why they haven’t labeled him as wrongfully detained. I mean, it’s a simple bureaucratic Jew that can help him leave sooner, and it would elevate it within the State Department to bring more attention to his plight.

I mean, it’s so upsetting to hear his voice there. We’ve been helping his family. They sent us a letter asking for help. Thankfully, you know, we were able to do something by asking for records about what’s going on with the State Department and why they aren’t prioritizing him. Is there any question he’s wrongfully detained? What’s the holdup? What’s the response? First of all, did you get the records? Secondly, the question of what it means to be wrongfully detained. Look, you know, I wanted Brittany Griner here in the United States fast. We did all those segments on her.

But nonetheless, she did admit that she brought drugs into the country of Russia without permission against the law. I mean, so if wrongfully detained, she violated the law. I wanted her home. Don’t get me wrong. But what does it mean to be wrongfully detained because Jimmy is accused of flashing someone, some kid? He was denied due process rights, not just the American version of it, but there’s been no due process for him at all, a forced confession. He had an interpreter during his trial. The court intervened and told the interpreter not to tell him what was going on.

And he’s been sentenced for 12 and a half years to then this labor camp as he discloses, one of the worst prisons in Russia generally. And I think there are nine Americans at issue here. There have been three prisons. I think there have been – this is the third swap, I think, of prisoners since he’s been detained, some of whom were arrested after he was arrested and convicted. It’s – there’s no reason that this shouldn’t be a priority, and they all should be of equal rank in terms of concern by the President and the State Department bureaucracy.

Well, I also think the media – because, I mean, I don’t watch every media all the time. But Jimmy Wilkis has not gotten the attention of the others, and I get it. And I said, I’m really glad they’re home. But, boy, they couldn’t report enough about Evan Gerskowitz. I’m glad he’s home. But there’s actually crickets when it comes to Jimmy, because Jimmy’s not a big, important person. Now, his poor parents are, you know, in their 80s now. I mean, there’s a real danger he dies there. I mean, he’s not healthy. We’ve already known – we’ve had terrible stories out of Russia in terms of prisoners dying.

I tell you, and for the State Department not to bother giving us basic records about this major issue that’s been out there for almost a decade, I mean, that’s not reassuring. It’s not like it’s a priority in the sense that, oh, here’s a bunch of records we consider important, instead of just giving us the hand to the face and ignoring the requests. I mean, if we – where’s Congress? We didn’t file – we’ve got this lawsuit going for just records, more than what the Congress seems to be doing at this point. It’s absolutely disgraceful that, I mean, Jimmy Wilkis and Thomas Schwalle should get a fair shake, like everybody else.

For some reason, they’re absolutely ignored. I can’t forget this one out. Tom Fitton, thank you very much, and good luck with your lawsuit. I hope you get those records. Thank you. [tr:trw].

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