Key Hostage Negotiator Pushes Back Republican Criticism Of Russian Prisoner Swap to Jake Tapper

Key hostage negotiator Roger Carstens ripped up criticism of his Thursday prison exchange with Russia as “not proving true” after senior Republicans claimed that exchanging Russian criminals to acquire civilian hostages would incentivize more hostage-taking in the future.

Carstens, who was kept on as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs by the Biden administration from the Trump administration and who previously worked to free former Marine Trevor Reed and WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian detention, reflected on his role in helping orchestrate the most recent prisoner swap—the largest between the West and Russia since the Cold War ended.

The swap involved a total of 24 people with negotiations taking place over many months to guarantee concessions from European countries, like Germany, who released some Russians in their custody as part of the exchange. High profile U.S. citizens freed in the exchange included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, businessman Paul Whelan and Prague-based editor with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Alsu Kurmasheva.

Republicans like Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) said that the move would encourage the “Russian playbook” of charging “innocent Americans and others with phony crimes” and keep them as hostages in order to “leverage the release of Russian thugs and criminals held throughout the world.” Former President Donald Trump who described the exchange as a “win” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking with CNN host Jake Tapper on Monday, Carstens repeated the idea that “the moral imperative outweighs the moral hazard” and dismissed this notion entirely as “not proving true.”

The funny thing is it’s just not proving true. I mean there was a time when I had 54 cases, I’m now down to just over 20. So we’ve made hard changes, we’ve traded some bad people to get good innocent people back and you would think that my numbers would be skyrocketing up and they’re not. In fact, they’re going the opposite direction. So, the math proves that assertion to be wrong. When we make these hard decisions and the president makes the tough call to send someone back in a trade like this, our numbers are actually going down.

Also in the interview, Carsten reflected on the “beautiful scene” as U.S. hostages returned during Thursday’s prisoner exchange with Russia were reunited with their families after arriving back on American soil. He added:

This time all of America got to witness what I’ve had the chance to see before. When the plane landed at Andrews Airforce Base the president and the vice president met everyone as they came down the stairways and then the families met everyone and crashed into each other. Everyone in America had the chance to see what I’ve been privileged to see and that is a son meeting his mother. I think of that beautiful scene when Evan meets his mother and is lifting her off her feet, also [Kurmasheva] seeing Pavel and her two daughters. Paul Whelan reuniting with [wife] Elizabeth. I mean that’s something that I’ve had a chance to see and now everyone has had a chance to see that special moment.

Tapper noted just “how much joy” Carstens’ work had brought to “so many people.”

CNN host Jake Tapper

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