CBS News
Freed American Paul Whelan, in first interview, opens up about life inside a Russian labor camp
Washington — In December 2022, Paul Whelan was sitting in a factory at a Russian labor camp in Mordovia, more than seven hours east of Moscow, adding buttons and buttonholes to winter coats.
He was summoned to the prison warden’s office and was hopeful that someone from the U.S. government was calling to tell him they had finally secured his freedom, Whelan told “Face the Nation” in his first interview since he was released in a complex prisoner swap in August. Instead, a U.S. official told him, it was women’s basketball star Brittney Griner who was going home. Russia had agreed to release her in exchange for Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer nicknamed the “Merchant of Death.”
“I asked him point blank, I said, so what else do you have to trade? And he said, ‘Nothing,'” Whelan recalled of the phone conversation. “How do you now get me back? And he said, ‘Well, we’re going to reconvene tomorrow to discuss that.'”
“You realize what you’ve done here,” Whelan said he told the official. “You have no one to trade. They don’t want anyone else. And he said, ‘Yes, yes, we realize.'”
CBS News
The Marine veteran was two years into his 16-year prison sentence after Russia arrested him in 2018 on what the U.S. found to be fabricated espionage charges. By then, Washington and Moscow had swapped Trevor Reed, a Marine veteran who had been detained in Russia since 2019, for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in the U.S. of drug smuggling. Russia had detained Griner in February 2022.
Whelan, who the U.S. State Department determined to be wrongfully detained, had expected to be freed with Reed, whose health was in decline. He said he learned of his exclusion from that trade over the radio while he was working in the factory.
“All I could do is just sit back and try to process what I just heard in Russian,” he said. “All I could do was just keep on working.”
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Whelan was visiting Moscow for a friend’s wedding in December 2018 when he was arrested. In footage of his arrest released by Russian state media, Whelan is in his hotel room bathroom talking to an acquaintance who hands him a flash drive moments before agents from Russia’s intelligence agency, the FSB, detained him. Whelan declined to say more about the acquaintance, but he believes he was targeted.
“I hadn’t done anything. I hadn’t committed espionage,” he said.
At the time, Whelan, who has citizenship in the U.S., Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, was the global head of security for auto parts supplier BorgWarner. The company laid him off about a year into his detention.
“If you can call an act by an employer un-American, that was un-American,” he said. “What really bothered me, wasn’t too much losing my job, but that BorgWarner continued to do business in Russia while I was being held prisoner there. They refused to cooperate with the U.S. government. They refused to cooperate with people that were trying to help me. … They haven’t done anything to support me or my family.”
CBS News reached out to BorgWarner for comment on Whelan’s remarks. The company referred to its August statement when Whelan was freed, in which it claimed his December 2018 trip to Russia was personal, not business-related. Whelan told CBS News that the company had paid for his visa to enter the country, and that he had been sending work emails and handling work-related phone calls on the day he was arrested.
Whelan said soon after his arrest, FSB agents told him not to do “anything rash” and he “shouldn’t worry” because this was all part of Russia’s ploy to get Yaroshenko, Bout and Maria Butina, a Russian agent who had sought to infiltrate conservative American political circles.
After Butina’s deportation from the U.S. in 2019 following her prison sentence and the two prisoner exchanges in 2022, Russia had secured the release of all three.
Meanwhile, Whelan’s family had grown increasingly worried about his well-being.
“How do you continue to survive, day after day, when you know that your government has failed twice to free you from a foreign prison? I can’t imagine he retains any hope that a government will negotiate his freedom at this point,” his twin brother, David Whelan, wrote in an email to reporters on Dec. 8, 2022.
Patrick Semansky / AP
As negotiations for his release stalled over the years, Whelan said “it did play with my mind.”
The first two years of Whelan’s detainment he was kept at Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison, where the lights were kept on 24 hours a day in his cell. At the labor camp, guards woke him up every two hours every night for four years.
“Getting off that sleep pattern has been very, very difficult,” he said. “It is still tremendously difficult to sleep for six or eight hours at a time.”
The labor camp housed mainly prisoners from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, he said, describing his fellow prisoners as a “close-knit family.” They were much younger than Whelan, now 54, and helped him figure out how to send messages back and forth through the prison communication network with Reed before his release, he said.
“Knowing that he was there … gave me some strength and helped me get through my ordeal,” Whelan said. “I think him knowing that I was close by and doing the same helped him, too.”
They also had secret cellphones, Whelan said, that enabled prisoners to communicate with those from their camp who had been sent to the frontlines in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“They would communicate with us, and the communication from them, I was passing back to the four governments through illegal cellphones,” he said, explaining that the prison guards turned a blind eye. “A Russian prison guard gets $300, $400 a month. You give them a carton of cigarettes, and you can do just about anything you want.”
When Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on trumped-up espionage charges in March 2023, Whelan and his family again worried that he would be left behind. His family consistently pressed the Biden administration to do more to secure his release. Whelan also advocated for his own freedom, calling journalists and, in separate phone calls, expressing his frustrations directly to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens.
Carstens said his conversation with Whelan after Griner’s release was “one of the toughest phone calls” he has ever had.
Alex Brandon / AP
It took months of painstaking negotiations through diplomatic and intelligence channels for the final deal that would grant freedom to both Whelan and Gershkovich to come together. The deal hinged on President Biden persuading German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to release convicted FSB assassin Vadim Krasikov.
On Aug. 1, in one of the largest prisoner swaps since the end of the Cold War, Russia released 16 prisoners, including political prisoners aligned with deceased opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Western countries released eight Russians, including Krasikov. Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. green card holder and Kremlin critic, went free alongside Whelan and Gershkovich.
During Mr. Biden’s visit to Berlin on Friday, he thanked the German chancellor for his help in securing the release of the wrongfully detained Americans, according to the White House’s summary of their meeting.
Whelan said he was held in solitary confinement in the five days before his release.
He didn’t believe he was on his way home, until the small CIA plane carrying him and the other freed detainees flew over the English Channel. “I wasn’t expecting to see the White Cliffs of Dover, but I did,” Whelan said, tearing up for the first time in the interview.
“You know, during the war, they guided the Spitfire pilots back,” he said, referring to how the cliffs were a prominent marker on the return flight path for British fighter planes during World War II. “For me, it was guiding me and Evan and Alsu back to the United States.”
Alex Brandon / AP
He didn’t know that Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris would be waiting for him on the tarmac when they landed shortly before midnight at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Wearing unwashed clothes that he had brought to Russia in 2018 that were now too big for him, Whelan was the first to disembark from the plane that had traveled from Ankara, Turkey, where the exchange occurred.
“I was told I could go first because I’d been held the longest,” he said. “You see the stairs come down, and the president and vice president are looking up at the plane. I’m in the plane looking out, I’m looking at all the media, saying, ‘Wow, OK, I need to figure out how to do this really quickly.'”
He walked down the eight steps and saluted Mr. Biden. He spoke briefly with the president and vice president before walking over to his sister, Elizabeth Whelan, who had traveled to Washington more than 20 times to push the government to take action. Mr. Biden later took the American flag pin off the lapel of his suit jacket and pinned it on Whelan’s shirt.
While Whelan was waiting to head to San Antonio, Texas, for medical evaluation, the Paris Olympics played on the television in the distinguished visitors lounge at Joint Base Andrews.
“And as I’m looking, I said, ‘Hey, look, it’s Brittney. Brittney’s on TV,'” Whelan said.
Griner, who won her third consecutive Olympic gold medal in Paris, had advocated for Whelan’s freedom after her release.
“It was one of those incredible moments,” he said.
Courtesy of the Whelan family
CBS News
Former Israeli hostages released in truce 1 year ago call for action to release those still held
Former Israeli hostages who were freed from Hamas captivity during a week-long humanitarian pause in fighting exactly one year ago Sunday called for immediate action to secure a deal for the release of those still held.
The only truce in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war on Nov. 24, 2023 – fewer than two months after fighting began – led to the release of 80 Israelis held by militants in Gaza. They were freed in exchange for 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.
Repeated efforts since then by mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States to secure another truce and hostage release have failed. Qatar early this month said it was suspending its mediation role until the warring sides show “seriousness.”
Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images
Gabriella Leimberg was kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and was released along with her daughter, Mia, and sister Clara.
“For 53 days, the one thing that kept me going is that we, the people of Israel, the Jewish people, sanctify life — we don’t leave anyone behind,” she said.
Leimberg added: “Everything has already been said and now action is required. We don’t have any more time.”
Around 100 hostages are still in Gaza, and at least a third are believed to be dead.
“I survived and I was fortunate to get my entire family back,” Leimberg said. “I want and demand this for all the families of the hostages.”
Hamas wants Israel to end the war and withdraw all troops from Gaza. Israel has offered only to pause its offensive.
The Palestinian death toll from the war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
Danielle Aloni, who was kidnapped with her five-year-old daughter, Emelia, and freed after 49 days, spoke at the ceremony of the “increasing danger” those still being held face every day.
She said those still in captivity “suffer physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, their identity and dignity crushed anew each day”.
“It took the Israeli government about two months to secure a deal for me and 80 other Israeli hostages. Why is it taking over a year to reach another deal to free them from this hell?” asked Aloni, whose brother-in-law, David Cunio, and his brother, Ariel Cunio, are still being held.
She emphasized that, even though she and the other hostages gained their freedom a year ago, “we haven’t really left the tunnels,” — referring to Hamas’ underground tunnels where many of the hostages were held.
“The feeling of suffocation, the terrible humidity, the stench — these sensations still envelop us,” Aloni said.
“If people could truly understand what it means to be held in subhuman conditions in tunnels, surrounded by terrorists for 54 days — there’s no way they would allow hostages to remain there for 415 days!” said Raz Ben Ami, who was released in the deal a year ago.
Her husband, Ohad, is still among those being held.
Ben Ami called for a ceasefire to “bring back all the hostages as quickly as possible”.
CBS News
Couple charged for allegedly stealing $1 million from Lululemon in convoluted retail theft scheme
A couple from Connecticut faces charges for allegedly taking part in an intricate retail theft operation targeting the apparel company Lululemon that may have amounted to $1 million worth of stolen items, according to a criminal complaint.
The couple, Jadion Anthony Richards, 44, and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes-Richards, 45, were arrested Nov. 14 in Woodbury, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Richards and Lawes-Richards have been charged with one count each of organized retail theft, which is a felony, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office said. They are from Danbury, Connecticut.
The alleged operation impacted Lululemon stores in multiple states, including Minnesota.
“Because of the outstanding work of the Roseville Police investigators — including their new Retail Crime Unit — as well as other law enforcement agencies, these individuals accused of this massive retail theft operation have been caught,” a spokesperson for the attorney’s office said in a statement on Nov. 18. “We will do everything in our power to hold these defendants accountable and continue to work with our law enforcement partners and retail merchants to put a stop to retail theft in our community.”
Both Richards and Lawes-Richards have posted bond as of Sunday and agreed to the terms of a court-ordered conditional release, according to the county attorney. For Richards, the court had set bail at $100,000 with conditional release, including weekly check-ins, or $600,000 with unconditional release. For Lawes-Richards, bail was set at $30,000 with conditional release and weekly check-ins or $200,000 with unconditional release. They are scheduled to appear again in court Dec. 16.
Prosecutors had asked for $1 million bond to be placed on each half of the couple, the attorney’s office said.
Richards and Lawes-Richards are accused by authorities of orchestrating a convoluted retail theft scheme that dates back to at least September. Their joint arrests came one day after the couple allegedly set off store alarms while trying to leave a Lululemon in Roseville, Minnesota, and an organized retail crime investigator, identified in charging documents by the initials R.P., recognized them.
The couple were allowed to leave the Roseville store. But the investigator later told an officer who responded to the incident that Richards and Lawes-Richards were seasoned shoplifters, who apparently stole close to $5,000 worth of Lululemon items just that day and were potentially “responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in loss to the store across the country,” according to the complaint. That number was eventually estimated by an investigator for the brand to be even higher, with the criminal complaint placing it at as much as $1 million.
Richards and Lawes-Richards allegedly involved other individuals in their shoplifting pursuits, but none were identified by name in the complaint. Authorities said they were able to successfully pull off the thefts by distracting store employees and later committing fraudulent returns with the stolen items at different Lululemon stores.
“Between October 29, 2024 and October 30, 2024, RP documented eight theft incidents in Colorado involving Richards and Lawes-Richards and an unidentified woman,” authorities wrote in the complaint, describing an example of how the operation would allegedly unfold.
“The group worked together using specific organized retail crime tactics such as blocking and distraction of associates to commit large thefts,” the complaint said. “They selected coats and jackets and held them up as if they were looking at them in a manner that blocked the view of staff and other guests while they selected and concealed items. They removed security sensors using a tool of some sort at multiple stores.”
CBS News contacted Lululemon for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.
CBS News
Former Trump national security adviser says next couple months are “really critical” for Ukraine
Washington — Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, a former national security adviser to Donald Trump, said Sunday that the upcoming months will be “really critical” in determining the “next phase” of the war in Ukraine as the president-elect is expected to work to force a negotiated settlement when he enters office.
McMaster, a CBS News contributor, said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that Russia and Ukraine are both incentivized to make “as many gains on the battlefield as they can before the new Trump administration comes in” as the two countries seek leverage in negotiations.
With an eye toward strengthening Ukraine’s standing before President-elect Donald Trump returns to office in the new year, the Biden administration agreed in recent days to provide anti-personnel land mines for use, while lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-made longer range missiles to strike within Russian territory. The moves come as Ukraine marked more than 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Meanwhile, many of Trump’s key selection for top posts in his administration — Rep. Mike Waltz for national security adviser and Sens. Marco Rubio for secretary of state and JD Vance for Vice President — haven’t been supportive of providing continued assistance to Ukraine, or have advocated for a negotiated end to the war.
CBS News
McMaster said the dynamic is “a real problem” and delivers a “psychological blow to the Ukrainians.”
“Ukrainians are struggling to generate the manpower that they need and to sustain their defensive efforts, and it’s important that they get the weapons they need and the training that they need, but also they have to have the confidence that they can prevail,” he said. “And any sort of messages that we might reduce our aid are quite damaging to them from a moral perspective.”
McMaster said he’s hopeful that Trump’s picks, and the president-elect himself, will “begin to see the quite obvious connections between the war in Ukraine and this axis of aggressors that are doing everything they can to tear down the existing international order.” He cited the North Korean soldiers fighting on European soil in the first major war in Europe since World War II, the efforts China is taking to “sustain Russia’s war-making machine,” and the drones and missiles Iran has provided as part of the broader picture.
“So I think what’s happened is so many people have taken such a myopic view of Ukraine, and they’ve misunderstood Putin’s intentions and how consequential the war is to our interests across the world,” McMaster said.
On Trump’s selections for top national security and defense posts, McMaster stressed the importance of the Senate’s advice and consent role in making sure “the best people are in those positions.”
McMaster outlined that based on his experience, Trump listens to advice and learns from those around him. And he argued that the nominees for director of national intelligence and defense secretary should be asked key questions like how they will “reconcile peace through strength,” and what they think “motivates, drives and constrains” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump has tapped former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence, who has been criticized for her views on Russia and other U.S. adversaries. McMaster said Sunday that Gabbard has a “fundamental misunderstanding” about what motivates Putin.
More broadly, McMaster said he “can’t understand” the Republicans who “tend to parrot Vladimir Putin’s talking points,” saying “they’ve got to disabuse themselves of this strange affection for Vladimir Putin.”
Meanwhile, when asked about Trump’s recent selection of Sebastian Gorka as senior director for counterterrorism and deputy assistant to the president, McMaster said he doesn’t think Gorka is a good person to advise the president-elect on national security. But he noted that “the president, others who are working with him, will probably determine that pretty quickly.”
Former Israeli hostages released in truce 1 year ago call for action to release those still held
Couple charged for allegedly stealing $1 million from Lululemon in convoluted retail theft scheme
Former Trump national security adviser says next couple months are “really critical” for Ukraine
Former Israeli hostages released in truce 1 year ago call for action to release those still held
Couple charged for allegedly stealing $1 million from Lululemon in convoluted retail theft scheme