- Rep. Adam Schiff said Russia's Vladimir Putin made a "calculated" choice to only swap Brittney Griner.
- Other Americans, like Paul Whelan, remain in Russian custody despite efforts to get them home.
Rep. Adam Schiff said Russian President Vladimir Putin knows how to "just roil the American body politic" in reference to the prisoner swap of Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout that has stirred contention among some in the US.
The swap came after rejected initial requests from the US to regain both Griner and Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who has been jailed in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges, Insider previously reported.
Schiff said that Putin was "calculated" by making US officials choose just one prisoner to bring home in exchange for Bout, a Russian arms dealer who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US.
"In terms of Putin, he gets an arms dealer back, he also knows that he can just roil the American body politic by picking one to send back to the United States and leaving others in custody in Russia. He knows just what that will stir in the United States of America," Schiff said on CBS News on "Face the Nation" Sunday morning.
Schiff, a California Democrat, added swaps like this are difficult for the families of those Americans still left in Russia, like Whelan and Marc Fogel.
"I'm thrilled that Brittney Griner is home. I think whenever an American hostage is released it's cause for celebration," Schiff said. "But it's hard to other Americans. Paul Whelan and Marc Fogel remain held in Russia. And whenever you trade an innocent American for a guilty Russian, it's an incentive to other despots to essentially grab an American and use them as a bargaining chip."
—Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 11, 2022
Schiff added that the Biden administration will remain committed to bringing home Whelan and Fogel.
"It's hard. And I'm so impressed with both the Whelan and Fogel families for their gratitude that one American is free," Schiff said. "But we need to continue working. I know the Biden Administration is, to release these others."