According to reports, detained American Paul Whelan expressed his frustration that more has not been done to secure his release shortly after hearing another detained American, Brittney Griner, was freed. Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing cannabis oil and sent to a penal colony.
Prior to the release of Griner, Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, had a plan that would potentially free both Griner and Whelan.
Those close to Ye say that Vladimir Putin and Ye had a meeting scheduled to discuss a variety of issues, but most importantly the release of not just Griner, but Whelan as well. Sources say Russian officials did receive a letter from Ye and were expecting his arrival.
“We are grateful for the safe return of Brittney Griner,” Ye recently posted on his newly launched Telegram channel following being locked out of Instagram and banned on Twitter. “We pray for Paul Whelan and every (person) being held in a foreign prison. White lives matter too.”
People who work closely with Ye chimed in on social media as well, saying that their team knew of Griner’s release long before any media outlet.
Nicholas J Fuentes, a podcaster who has been working with Ye and has been described as an adviser, posits that the White House may have agreed to a prisoner swap in order to prevent the meeting from happening.
“Earlier this month, Ye was invited to meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow to secure the release of Brittney Griner,” Fuentes wrote on Telegram. “He signed that paper for public release to show his intention to broker the deal. There is a good chance the White House agreed to the prisoner swap in order to prevent this from happening!”
Another close confidant to Ye and organizer of the Stop the Steal rallies, Ali Alexander, said on Telegram that Ye is a ‘Transparent Diplomat and Servant of Christ.’ Alexander also notes that Ye’s knowledge of the story proves that Ye can and has kept state secrets.
“Ye is a Transparent Diplomat and Servant of Christ. Him releasing a letter that was marked for public distribution shows that the Biden administration was more scared of its own political reputation than actually fighting for Americans Brittney Griner and Marine Paul Whelan. Believe that you haven’t seen the last of Ye’s diplomatic disruption yet.”
