![]() The basketball star’s camp is currently in wait-and-see mode as the case continues to make its way through the Russian legal system with Griner’s Russian legal team earlier this week appealing her conviction on drug smuggling charges. who Russia has been lobbying to get back for years.īut progress remains elusive. The duo are part of talks that also involve the potential exchange of VIKTOR BOUT, an arms dealer serving prison time in the U.S. Since then, the administration has gradually moved to acknowledge it’s engaged in a potential deal to get the WNBA superstar and former U.S. Griner’s team also enlisted KAREN FINNEY, a veteran Democratic strategist, to help galvanize some of the president’s supporters to bring attention to the case. In the days after the two talked, Biden got on a call with Griner’s wife CHERELLE GRINER, who had publicly expressed frustration with the Biden administration over the length of the WNBA superstar’s detention, and the pace of negotiations. The public and private pressure campaign from Griner’s family and prominent celebrities like Rapinoe has had an impact. “I think we can do more, I think we can always do more.” “I know the administration is working really hard to get her home, it’s obviously a difficult situation, but we need to get her home immediately,” she said during an interview with ABC News in July. And she wore a white suit with the letters “BG” emblazoned on the lapel as a tribute to Griner when Biden bestowed the medal of freedom on her in July. During an impassioned speech at the ESPYs, she called for Griner’s release. While Griner’s detention has galvanized numerous prominent athletes like LEBRON JAMES, STEPH CURRY, and others, Rapinoe has been one of the more outspoken on the issue. One person familiar with the call said Biden assured Rapinoe that his national security team was pursuing every avenue to try to secure her release as quickly as possible, and would continue to support her family. The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the call. Multiple people familiar with the matter told West Wing Playbook that Rapinoe also used her call with Biden to raise the issue of BRITTNEY GRINER’s detention in Russia, urging him to take more steps to secure her release. But the famously politically-active Olympian didn’t let the celebratory moment stop her from making a request of the most powerful man in the world. soccer star MEGAN RAPINOE was surely ecstatic earlier this summer to receive a call from President JOE BIDEN letting her know he was awarding her the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor a president can bestow. Send tips | Subscribe here| Email Alex | Email Max Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.
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