‘They Got The Job Done’: Steve Cohen Applauds Biden Admin’s Historic Prisoner Swap With Russia

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On "Forbes Newsroom," Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) spoke about the prisoner swap between the US and Russia.

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Transcript

00:00I do understand you've had a busy morning because prisoners like Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich,

00:05the Wall Street Journal reporter, were freed in an elaborate prisoner swap between Russia,

00:11the United States, and some other Western countries. What's your reaction to the news?

00:17Well, I was overjoyed to hear it. Vladimir Karl Merz, who was one of the individuals released,

00:21he's got a green card in America. His wife and children are American citizens. They live in

00:26Virginia. He was a pop-ed in the Washington Post and other papers writing about Russia. He's a

00:33great hero. He's a hero to me. I met him. I know him well. I know his family. He came to me one

00:39day and he said, don't you think the organization, the OSCE, Organization for Security Cooperation

00:44in Europe, of which I'm a member of the United States, should have a special representative

00:48for the prisoners? And I'd never thought about it. We had special representatives on anti-Semitism

00:52and certain other issues. And I said, well, that makes sense. It does make sense. And he said,

00:58well, would you get in touch with the president and suggest that we do that? I said, I'd be happy

01:05to. And I did, and I know he did too. And then he came to me one day and he said, I think you'd be

01:10a good special representative. Would you be willing to serve? I said, it'd be an honor.

01:15I was appointed. And I know, in retrospect, he knew he was going to, when he went back to Russia,

01:20he was going to be arrested and he was going to be in political prison. And he was looking for me to

01:25look after him, which I did. And he told me that the worst nightmare, the worst thing that can

01:29happen in a political prison is to be forgotten. And every chance I could, I'd let people know

01:34about Vladimir Karmor and his heroism. He'd twice been poisoned by Russians and thought to his close

01:41to death, people thought he was going to die. And yet he went back and he said, I must go back. I'm

01:46a Russian politician. I cannot be outside the country when my people are in the country and

01:50trying to get democracy, freedom, democracy, and a free Russia. We will have a free Russia. So,

01:57we went back and he got arrested on trumped up charges. I gave him a speech at the University

02:00of Arizona, Arizona State, about the war in Ukraine. He didn't call it a special military

02:05operation. He was sentenced to 25 years with no help. I thought he would die in prison like no

02:09other. So, I was happy. I was certainly happy for Yursevich, too, and for the lady that was with

02:14the Radio Free Europe and for Paul Whelan. There are others that should be released, too. There's

02:19a lady that I think she was an actress or a ballerina. She gave $50, $25 to some group in

02:25Ukraine. She served a long time and she's an American citizen. There are others that there's

02:29a teacher who I think had a small amount of pot. He's been sentenced to many, many years. So, I was

02:35happy today. It was a great day. President Biden did his best. He's a diplomat. Secretary Blinken

02:41worked with him and, of course, Jake Sullivan and they got the job done. It took a long time and

02:45they pulled Germany and Poland and Norway and Slovenia to be involved in this. They all gave

02:52up something. Some of them probably didn't got anything. There were a couple of Germans released

02:57from Russia. There were several friends of Navalny in Russia who were released. I guess

03:01they'll come to the West. But it was a great day for diplomacy. It was a great day for freedom and

03:08it's wonderful to see these people united with their families, particularly Vladimir

03:11Karloff. He's one of my heroes for all time. Have you been able to talk with him today?

03:18No, I don't think anybody has. He's not in good health. He's been taken to Ramstein Air Base in

03:23Germany, which has a wonderful medical facility, and that's where his wife and children were taken

03:28to meet him. He had problems with his feet. He'd been in solitary confinement for, I think, two

03:33years. He had some problems to start with, but they got worse. So, he's going to be in the hospital,

03:38I'm sure, for a while. Hopefully, they can correct whatever problems he has or cure whatever problems

03:44he has. He can return to America. I sent him an email and just said, welcome home, pal.

03:49And I sent Virginia an email and said I had the L.S. for her. It was just about three weeks ago,

03:53maybe a month ago, at the Democracy movement's dinner in Washington. I presented an award to

04:04she and her husband at that dinner. She's done a great job representing his views,

04:08articulating the need for a free Russia, and trying to replace Vladimir, which is impossible

04:14to do, but she's done a great job. They're a remarkable couple.

‘They Got The Job Done’: Steve Cohen Applauds Biden Admin’s Historic Prisoner Swap With Russia

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