Paul Whelan, the other prisoner in Russia

[Jim Bow]

He’s kinda hinky.
They keep referring to him as an ex- Marine. Well, he’s “Ex” because he’s recieved a bad conduct discharge for stealing $10,000. He was in Russia to help shepherd the family of s good friend who was marrying a Russian girl. Yet, he decided not to attend the wedding.
Ive, of course, got no firsthand information, but he comes across as a weasel.

[Nicholas Carey]

He’s kinda hinky.
They keep referring to him as an ex- Marine. Well, he’s “Ex” because he’s recieved a bad conduct discharge for stealing $10,000. He was in Russia to help shepherd the family of s good friend who was marrying a Russian girl. Yet, he decided not to attend the wedding.
Ive, of course, got no firsthand information, but he comes across as a weasel.

More than just that. From Wikipedia,

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul...rity_director)

"After a court-martial conviction in January 2008 on multiple counts "related to larceny", he was sentenced to 60 days restriction, reduction to pay grade E-4, and a bad conduct discharge.[9][10] The specific charges against him included "attempted larceny, three specifications of dereliction of duty, making a false official statement, wrongfully using another’s social security number, and ten specifications of making and uttering checks without having sufficient funds in his account for payment."[11]"

And

"On December 28, 2018, Whelan was arrested in the Moscow area by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which later confirmed his arrest.[15][16][17] Whelan's twin brother David said Whelan arrived in Moscow on December 22 to attend the wedding of a former fellow Marine at the Hotel Metropol Moscow and to assist the groom's family members on their first visit to Russia, a country he had visited many times. He said his brother planned to return to Michigan on January 6, 2019, via Saint Petersburg.[18]

Per MBK News, an outlet run by Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Whelan had $80,000 in cash "temporarily confiscated" during a customs inspection at Domodedovo Airport.[19] David said his brother entered Russia using his U.S. passport.[4] He said his brother had not been in contact with his family. He was formally charged on January 3, 2019.[20]

According to the Russian news agency Rosbalt [ru], Whelan was apprehended in his hotel room at the Metropol while concluding a long outing with a Russian citizen, who handed him a USB drive containing "a list of all the employees at a classified security agency". The independent Latvian-based publication Meduza reported that the wedding attendees all banded close together for the duration of the holiday, and were taken aback by Whelan's decision to spend the day alone.[21]"

[Too Little Time]

So is he a bad guy or just a US spy with a convincing cover?

[Ted Hoppe]

Who are we to judge a man on a vacation in Russia. What he does in his private life is private: choices he may have made is speculative and ugly conjecture at most. he had suffered in the golag for 4 years on trumped up charges. If he comes home he will be even more broken/

It wasn't like he was knowingly smuggling drugs across international borders and got caught on camera.

[CWSmith]

So is he a bad guy or just a US spy with a convincing cover?

If he were nobody, would Putin keep him off the negotiation? Even Whelan plus Griner is still a good deal for a Russian arms merchant.

[Joe (SoCal)]

Who walks around Russia with $80 grand, thats almost as stupid as forgetting your weed in your luggage.
I wonder was the money gonna go in the wedding envelope, if so I should have invited him to our wedding

[Nicholas Carey]

Who walks around Russia with $80 grand, thats almost as stupid as forgetting your weed in your luggage.
I wonder was the money gonna go in the wedding envelope, if so I should have invited him to our wedding

A man needs walking around money. Never know when you might want pirogi or stuffed cabbage. Maybe a bottle of vodka.