‘Great Day for America’: Kellyanne Conway Says Brittney Griner ‘Paid Her Dues’ for Breaking Russian Drug Law

Fox News contributor and former senior Trump administration official Kellyanne Conway hailed the U.S. getting back WNBA superstar Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap a “great day for America.”

Russia returned Griner to U.S. custody on Thursday in exchange for Viktor Bout, an arms dealer who was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States. Griner was arrested in Russia in February, one week before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, for having cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia. Griner was sentenced to a 9-year term in a penal colony.

Despite the Biden administration’s efforts, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was not included in the swap, which was reportedly reached last Thursday, as Russia reportedly was only willing to do a one-for-one deal. Whelan is serving a 16-year prison sentence on baseless charges of him being a U.S. spy.

“This is a great day for America. I’m glad Brittney Griner is coming home to our country and I think she paid her dues in terms of breaking their laws. It was an undue, unjust punishment,” Conway said on Fox News’ Outnumbered. “I’m very disappointed for Paul Whelan and his family though. This is very cruel to them. It looked like he was part of the negotiation process.”

Conway called the deal “lopsided.”

“Seriously speaking, I hope the Biden administration keeps focusing on this because it’s incredibly important,” she said. “It’s not something they seem very, very focused on … in terms of having as a major priority. But I also think it just shows Russia right now a Russia in retreat. Volodymyr Zelensky is TIME’s Person of the Year and deserves it. And you see Ukraine really doing well in that contest, so I just think it’s good for America. I don’t want to second-guess the rest of it because I’m glad she’s on the plane on the way here.”

Watch above via Fox News.