Former New Mexico Democratic Governor Bill Richardson is planning to go to Russia to try to win the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, according to a report.
Richardson, who served as energy secretary and UN ambassador in the Clinton administration and has mounted several private diplomatic missions over the last few decades, is expected to go to Moscow in the coming weeks, ABC News reported.
“We asked the Richardson Center to help and I’m encouraged that he might be going,” Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, said in a statement to the network.
Last week, the 6-foot, 9-inch Phoenix Mercury star, who has been held in Russia on drug charges since February 17 despite U.S. diplomatic efforts to win her release, pleaded guilty Thursday to bringing hashish oil into the country. Griner, however, said she did not intend to do so. She was playing in the off-season for a Russian team when she was allegedly caught with illegal vape cartridges at the airport.
The guilty plea sparked speculation it could pave the way for a prisoner swap. Russia reportedly wants the release of arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is known as “the Merchant of Death” and is serving a 25-year sentence in the United States, in exchange for Griner.
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will try to win the WNBA star’s release from a Russian prison. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Griner had flown to Russia to finish her season for UMMC Ekaterinburg when she was arrested. The team competes in the Russian Premier League and FIBA Europe’s EuroLeague. WNBA players can make far bigger salaries playing in Europe and Asia during the league’s off-season than they can earn in the United States, where interest in women’s basketball is limited.
Richardson in 2011 founded the Richardson Center, a foundation that works to negotiate the release of political prisoners globally. He most recently helped arrange a prisoner swap that brought home former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed after nearly two and a half years in captivity in Russia. He also worked to win the release of Otto Warmbier, who was held in North Korea until 2017, when he was sent back to the U.S. in a vegetative state.
In addition to representing the Griner family, Richardson is working on behalf of the family of Paul Whelan, another former Marine who has been held in Russia for more than three years.
Griner faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale transportation of drugs.
The White House National Security Council told ABC it was in contact with Richardson and “valued his efforts” but declined to say more.
Richardson was tied to the sex trafficking case of Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, when his name surfaced in a civil suit Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre filed against Epstein crony Ghislaine Maxwell. Giuffre alleged she was trafficked to Richardson, among other high-profile men while she was underage. Richardson denied the claim.