Three reasons why Biden's Russian prisoner swap is a bad idea

Former U.S. intel officer Rebekah Koffler provides analysis on the Russian courts’ decision to sentence WNBA player Brittney Griner to 9 years in prison on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend.’

President Joe Biden recently stated that his administration will "pursue every possible avenue" to bring U.S. citizens Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan home to the United States. Griner, a women’s basketball star, was sentenced last week by a Russian court to nine years in prison for marijuana possession, a crime in Russia for which she had pleaded guilty. Whelan is serving a 16-year jail term in Russia on espionage charges, accused of receiving and possessing classified information on a USB drive.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed on Friday that the United States put forward a "substantial proposal" to Putin’s regime for a prisoner exchange, which reportedly would entail releasing Viktor Bout, a dangerous Russian arms trafficker, back to Russia in exchange for Griner and Whelan.

Bad idea.

Here are the top three reasons why this potential deal is not in U.S. interests and should not take place.

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First, the deal would embolden Putin to continue using "hostage diplomacy" to achieve his anti-American agenda. The Biden administration may bring two Americans home, scoring much needed political points -- at a time the president’s popularity is at historic lows -- but it will endanger many more Americans in the future and harm U.S. security. For years, the Russian government has used prisoner exchanges to retrieve Russian intelligence operatives, cyber criminals, and other types of Russian citizens held in U.S. prisons. Typically, however, the Russians get away