Harris says bringing home Brittney Griner, other detained Americans ‘on our highest priority list’

Vice President Harris told CBS’s Robert Costa in an interview that the Biden administration is making it a priority to bring WNBA star Brittney Griner home from detention in Russia.

“[W]e take very seriously and we’ve been very clear, Brittany Griner, and there are sadly other Americans who are being unlawfully detained around the world, and it is on our highest priority list to bring those folks home,” she told Costa in an interview that aired on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

“I can’t talk to you about the details of what’s happening behind the scenes, but I can tell you that it is one of our highest priorities to bring these Americans home.”

When Costa asked how confident Harris was that Griner would come home soon, the vice president said: “[W]e’re gonna do everything we can to bring her home as soon as possible. That is for sure. That is for sure.”

The administration has faced criticism for what some saw as its minimal outreach to the families of Griner and Paul Whelan, another American who has been detained in Russia since 2018.

Griner, an Olympic gold medalist and a center for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, has been detained in Russia since February. She potentially faces 10 years in prison if convicted of allegations of having cannabis oil in her luggage.

Biden and Harris on Wednesday spoke with Griner’s wife, Cherelle, after she told CBS in an interview the day prior that it was “very disheartening” not to have heard from Biden directly.

Last weekend, Brittney Griner wrote to Biden saying she was “terrified” she might remain in Russia forever.

Biden on Friday also placed a phone call to Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth, after sustaining criticism from her.

When asked on Sunday by Costa if a prisoner swap was on the table for Griner, Harris declined to say.

“We take [it] very seriously,” Harris said.