Both Whelan and Griner are considered wrongful detainees by the US government, and both their families are working with the nonprofit Richardson Center. CNN has reached out to the State Department and the National Security Council for comment on Richardson’s planned trip, which was first reported by ABC News. Mickey Bergman, the executive director of the Richardson Center, told CNN, “we’re not in a position to comment on that at this time.” News of the planned trip comes days after Griner, the WNBA star who has been held in Russia since February after being arrested on drug-trafficking charges, pleaded guilty in a court outside Moscow. Griner, who the Russians said had two cartridges with less than a gram of cannabis oil in each, told the court Thursday that she was packing in a hurry and the cartridges ended up in her bag by accident and she did not intend to break the law. . He faces up to 10 years in prison. Richardson told CNN Thursday after Griner’s plea: “We believe that any inmate in a situation like this should do what they think can help them survive the ordeal.” “She is fighting for her life,” Richardson said, adding that he is “working hard to ensure the safe return” of Griner and Whelan from Russia, but declined to elaborate because of “ongoing efforts.” Whelan, a former marine, was arrested in December 2018 on espionage charges he vehemently denies. He was sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison in a trial that US officials denounced as unfair. Richardson has long worked to free Americans held abroad and played a role in securing the release of Trevor Reed from Russian custody in April. A source familiar with the situation told CNN in April, after Reed’s release, that members of the Richardson Center traveled to Moscow in February, in the days immediately before Russia’s war in Ukraine, to meet with the Russian leadership. After that visit, the Richardson Center had a clear sense of what the Russians were willing to do and how they were willing to do it, which was presented to the White House. The Biden administration has repeatedly said that working to secure the release of Griner and Whelan, as well as that of Americans held illegally abroad, is a top priority. President Joe Biden spoke by phone last week with Griner’s wife, Cheryl Griner, and wrote the star WNBA player a letter in response to her own text message to him, which he shared with her in court last week. After his call with Cherelle Griner, the President also spoke by phone with Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth Whelan. CNN’s Chuck Johnston, Anna Chernova, Abby Phillip, Dakin Andone and Alaa Elassar contributed to this report.
