shades fills you in

The U.S. swapped Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for basketball star Brittney Griner, who was imprisoned for having cannabis oil in her luggage. The AP reported reactions were mixed

The American Conservative said Russia completely fleeced the U.S. -- we gave up an international mobster for a pothead?

Fox News wrote that U.S. law enforcement was also upset. It took a lot of work to catch Bout and he’s a legit threat. Also, now countries will take our people!

This deal shows how weak the U.S. has become, lamented a NY Post Op. The world is taking note

The Conversation: This is all tough -- Griner really was guilty. And the sentence wasn’t *that* excessive under Russian law

A WaPo Op doesn’t like the criticism. Prisoner exchanges with Russia will never feel fair. America just values its citizens and their freedom

An Op from The Hill agrees her release was good for the country. It proves that diplomacy still matters

And The NYT suggested that the right only got upset because it’s caught up in identity politics

An AZ Central Op: Can we skip the politics for a moment and just be happy that an American is free?

For what it’s worth, Whelan’s family said freeing Griner was “the right choice” even though Paul wasn’t part of the deal

And Secretary of State Antony Blinken said swapping Whelan for Bout wasn’t an option. Russia isn’t open to negotiating his release -- The WSJ