that helped 8 out of 10 people go up to 4 months between injections, after 3 initial monthly treatments. if you have an eye infection, eye pain or redness or allergies to eylea hd, don't use. eye injections like eylea hd may cause eye infection, separation of the retina, or rare but severe swelling of blood vessels in the eye. an increase in eye pressure has been seen there is an uncommon risk of heart attack or stroke associated with blood clots. the most commons side effects were blurred vision, cataract, corneal injury and eye floaters. and there's still so much to see. if you are on eylea or a similar type of treatment, ask your retina specialist about eylea hd today for the potential for fewer injections. >> harris: we come in with breaking news. the story has changed a bit moment by moment so we're very careful as we report this now. a major swap between the united states and russia is expected. now we won't get any firmer with

our reporting until we know that deal is done. russia wants a long list of prisoners in the swap. we want our american citizens back including we're told journalist evan gershkovitch and former u.s. marine paul whelan both believed to be part of the prisoner exchanged. the firmness of this reporting will only happen when that deal is done and we know for sure. right now, keep the faith. i'm harris faulkner and you are in "the faulkner focus." gershkovitch, a reporter for the "wall street journal," was wrongfully detained in russia in march of 2023. moscow accused him of espionage while reporting on moscow's struggling economy. mind you, their government ministry had already given him an -- they had given him the accommodation for and had confirmed that he could report

in their country. he was a confirmed journalist inside russia. he reported on the economy. his last article was critical of russia's economy. and we know that because we read it. he works for the "wall street journal," part of a wider fox news network family. now the marine paul whelan was arrested in 2018 on similar charges, espionage, similar charges. he is not a journalist, military. so both americans were convicted and sentenced to hard labor for years in separate closed door trials. the turkish government, we're told, is reporting or what we are reporting based oh than what we're told, is that swap includes 26 prisoners from seven different countries. that's what russia wants. all of this marks the largest prisoner swap with russia since

the cold war. for people watching not in our lifetimes or their lifetimes will it happen. again we'll keep the faith. there were already concerns about the ten individuals that we know of in russia. will reportedly get to return home. confirmed three american citizens. also another -- i'll tell you more about that but let's watch this. >> i am delighted that evan and paul and any other americans may be coming home. it is high time. but i tell you, there are people here that putin real' wanted back. we see who it is. he picked up evan in particular just so he could continue this nasty business of swapping out with spies and crypto traders he wants back. >> harris: mark meredith is live at the white house. in the last few minutes we've seen a situation where we knew to expect this but we've been told the deal may not be done yet and others are reporting that it is. we really want to be careful at this point and keep all faith

engaged. >> you are right. the press corps is being careful and so is the white house. administration being tight lipped about the swap. complex negotiations. i want to mention president biden is in the west wing for much of the morning it was quiet. we know he is in his officers. we would expect that given the sensitivity of this and, of course, the high profile nature of an event like this it is likely president biden will talk on camera. the white house kept his schedule pretty open. we didn't have any other events with him. a briefing around 1:30. if the president were to talk i can imagine that would take precedence. in terms of where this has been for for the administration, president biden said it was a top priority. he put out a statement two weeks after evan gershkovitch was actually convicted and sentenced to 16 years in jail the white

house said they would continue working for his release and also been getting pressure for months if not years to also secure paul whelan's release. his family was vocal in their desire to get him back home. it came fought forefront after britteny griner was released as a result of a prisoner exchange with russia as well. there was a lot of i want to say critiquing of the deal was worked out with the white house two years ago because they felt it wasn't -- some lawmakers felt it wasn't a fair trade. interesting moments ago the senate whip, senator dick durbin of illinois, spoke to reporters and told fox this has been became a typical diplomatic ploy. he said these people are pawns in a political and geopolitical crisis that continues to unfold with russia. now we would expect we'll see additional statements coming from d.o.d., state, you name the

apparatus. the letters in washington will have reaction. a massive p.r. campaign to keep both of these americans that we know of being transferred hopefully transferred in the forefront of the public. we've seen people wearing the pins free evan. billboards up all over town. an indication they didn't want this to fall by the wayside. there has been so much focus on the campaign trail. harris international crises can pop up day-by-day. >> harris: they are popping up day-by-day. this is a particularly tender time for world and our role in the world. dan hoffman former c.i.a. station chief who served in moscow, iraq and pakistan and fox news contributor. and also we have a security advisor under president trump. i will come to you first, dan, to first get your thoughts on

the back and forth now. you don't report a deal is done until it is. how sensitive is this moment in history right now? >> it's extraordinarily sensitive from my long experience at c.i.a. including with the 2010 so-called spy swap where we exchanged ten deep undercover russian foreign intelligence operatives to get four russians out of siberian death camps where they would have taken their last breath. it requires a long period of negotiation and we've seen these negotiations going on for quite some time. they are done in secret to the benefit of the united states and to russia and the process at large so they aren't subjected to the vagaries of public scrutiny. >> harris: victoria, i thank you both for joining me today. i'm really going to lean on this idea of americans abroad and broaden it out if i may. there are so many reasons why

people want to take americans. it seems to work for them to keep their boot on our neck. however, we have to work to get them home. i am thinking particularly of people who may not be in the forefront. the hostages in gaza, among them american citizens. victoria on a broad view i want to get your words and thoughts. >> thank you for raising that, harris and having me on today. i think this is a critical point that we have of citizens being held around the world and a tool of enemies of the united states. i'm from pennsylvania and i want to raise the case of mark, another american unjustly held by putin since 2022. we are all in pennsylvania praying it is mark. it is always a good day when they come home. the problem is the price and the issue is if putin feels he can get something for these people he will keep scooping up our

nationals. iranians do it routinely as well. we have citizens detained in china. so we have to be very judicious about what we give up in return or else we just incentivize bad behavior and putin pays no price. >> harris: you know, we don't know if the list could get longer. right now we only know of three people reporting and it's gershkovitch and whelan on the list. russian american radio jour journalist, russian american radio journalist. another journalist is the person we've been given as the third person. you talk about mark fogel. i remember reporting that case a few years ago. victoria, i appreciate you bringing that up. i will pray along with you that maybe somehow the list grows. we don't know that for certain. dan, what kind of negotiation,

what leverage does america have in all of this? who would we release? we saw with britteny griner we've made deals where really bad criminals have been part of those -- there is never a good criminal but really deadly people have been part of the swaps in the past. >> right. putin's asymmetric warfare against us and released their merchant of death to get britteny griner back. it's a tough deal but we need to get our people home. in this case vladimir putin wants one of his operatives who killed an ethnic chechyan in berlin and in jail in germany. he wants to get him back. deep undercover russian intelligence officers detained to slovenia and put-in wants them back as well and cyber criminals in the united states not at the level of vikter boot but they committed crimes and prosecuted for them. this is a clash of civilization

here. we respect the rule of law in the united states. there is no such thing in russia. there is just whatever vladimir putin wants to do to build out his regime's security and go toe-to-toe with his enemies. what scarce putin the most is democracy and everything enshrined in our constitution and bill of rights. that's what the challenge is for us in these negotiations. >> harris: look, i want to go over something on the screen right now and i will come to both of you, you know, we can kind of bounce off one beyond the other. victoria, let's start. march 29, 2023, evan gershkovitch, who was accredited by russia's foreign ministry. he was allowed to work as a journalist in that country. they detained in in march of 2023.

april 10th our u.s. state department designated him as wrongfully detained and started a broad government effort to try to free him. then on 14th was the first time his family received a direct contact from him. it was a brief handwritten letter. just speak if you can about how long these things can take and what happens to go from he has been detained and then almost the middle of the next month finally some proof of life, if you will? >> it is really cruel. as dan said this isn't the rule of law as we understand this. these are putin's courts. so he does this to maximize the pressure on the family, on evan's "wall street journal" associates as well so that they start make as much noise about this as possible. raise the pressure on the biden administration to do something about it and you have the kangaroo court scene that you are showing now. he is in a cage. it is inhuman. this is how they exact their

price for these hostages and now we've been well over a year dealing with this case and one can only imagine the toll it has taken on evan personally. of course, we're delighted he is coming home but you have to wonder who is next, harris? >> harris: well, it is evan, it's paul whelan and possibly a third journalist or second journalist in the mix, a russian radio journalist as well. we're following it all. i appreciate your expertise and your time. victoria, we have not really spent much time talking today but i look forward to getting that high-level what happened if we get to the point to find out that they are, in fact, coming home. i would love to do that with you. thank you both. fewer than three weeks. i believe we're on the 19th day since the attempted assassination on the nation's 45th president donald trump. he returned to pennsylvania for the first time since that

happened in butler last night he was in harrisburg, pennsylvania and that crowd was ready for him cheering loudly fired up. just hours earlier, the former president sat for what was supposed to be a really wide ranging interview with three journalists. i was one of them at the national association of black journalists convention. it was an interesting tip-off. it started -- and things got pretty fiery. i leaned in with the questions that matter to journalists. caroline sunshine is here from the campaign trump 2024 deputy communications director next. ♪ i'll be there... ♪ ♪ you don't... ♪ ♪ you don't have to worry... ♪ choice hotels is a family of brands with a hotel

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>> i think he is a brave man. his love of america to show his strength and come back out here and let everyone hear what he has to say. >> we were a great country and we got off track and i think he can help bring it back. >> trump needs to remain who he is and to stay the course and people will pay attention. >> harris: look at that. donald trump returned to pennsylvania for the first time last night. he held a rally in harrisburg again for the first time that he has been in pennsylvania since the assassination attempt on his life fewer than three weeks ago. as you know, that was in butler county, pennsylvania. just hours before, the former president was in chicago where he was taking questions from a panel at the national association of black journalists convention. i was one of the co-moderators of that panel. but things took a hostile turn before we could even ask one question. the journalist to his right

leaned in with this. >> you have attacked black journalists calling them a loser saying the questions they ask are stupid and racist. you have had dinner with a white supremacist at your mar-a-lago resort. >> for you to start off a question and answer appearance when you are 35 minutes a late because you couldn't get your equipment to work in a hostile manner is a disgrace. >> why should voters trust you when you use language like that sfl >> i don't think i've been asked a question in such a horrible manner. i love the black population of this country, i have done so much for the black population of this country. >> some of your own supporters, including republicans on capitol hill, have labeled vice president kamala harris, who is the first black and asian american woman to serve as vice president be on a major party ticket as a dei hire. do you believe that vice

president kamala harris is only on the ticket because she was a black woman. >> she was always of indian heritage and promoting that. i didn't know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now she wants to be known as black. i don't know, is she indian or is she black? >> harris: race is a tough issue. doesn't matter when it comes up and when there is emotion mixed in. it gets even tougher. those moments were really hard to be in the room for for some people. i was really glad i was there to witness is because right from the get it was not what it should have been. but we'll get into that in a moment. the vice president was also supposed to be there. so the donald trump campaign team were told that kamala harris would be there but told a group she had a scheduling conflict. that's what we were told on the ground the minute we got there. it was apparently lunch with the president at the white house and

the press secretary karine jean-pierre condemning the former president for his comments now. let's go to the press secretary. >> the american people deserve better. the american people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. >> doesn't matter if it's a foreign leader, a former president. it is insulting. and we have to put -- she is the vice president of the united states, kamala harris. we have to put some respect on her name. >> harris: wow. trump's vice presidential canadien j.d. vance branded kamala harris as a coward. president trump showed he had the courage to take tough questions while kamala harris continues to hide from any scrutiny or unfriendly media

like the coward she is. that's a quote. we know that kamala harris will be speaking with nabj ahead of donald trump taking the dais there and she will do that via satellite at this point as far as we know. not in person. caroline sunshine trump 2024 deputy communications director. >> you know this better than anybody. you were there. on stage doing your job as a journalist rather than deciding to play commentator like the other woman on that stage that should have honored her profession but played commentator, a disservice to that audience. the word of the day is fake, fake, fake versus fight, fight, fight. president trump says it better than i could. on stage in pennsylvania you heard him say this election is

between fake, fake, fake and fight, fight, fight. kamala harris is fake. fake policies. allows the fake news media to do her bidding and carry water for her so she never has to show up and take tough questions from journalists. versus you contrast that with president trump being the man who took a bullet to democracy and returned to pennsylvania weeks later and fight, fight, fight how he handled himself on that stage willingly going to a place where i believe president trump was the first republican nominee or first republican president to attend the national association of black journalists in person, being willing to go speak to audiences that may not have heard from him before and tried to do it in a way that we hope allows for less bias. that's not how president trump is used on that stage was treated and it was a master class from president trump in how to -- he asked rachel. can you give me a definition of

dei? can you give me a definition? she couldn't. i thought it was a master class from president trump in how you fight, fight, fight and tell the truth and the textbook case study in how the mainstream media bias plays out. >> harris: we'll see how race plays a role in 96 days out until election day. certainly september 6th is when some of the battleground states in particular north carolina. if it becomes contentious begins voting in person, early voting. i want to talk a little bit about the race combativeness going on on the stage. the president walked into a situation where people had already expressed they wished the nabj had canceled them and they showed up for the forum and didn't move out of the seats. he showed up. and he was trying to be an honest broker in that position. there were a lot of technical shenanigans. we don't really know what was going on.

i could hear very little of what he said and what i said. i want to put that out there. as we go forward you and i can circle back on what happens going after this but i want to get to this. i asked former president trump if j.d. vance is ready to be president given the attempted assassination on his life? let's watch. >> harris: you said some words that were prophetic because i asked you who you wanted to choose for vice president and you said normally it really wouldn't matter but you said these words, 3 1/2 hours before an attempt he assassination on your life. you told me that bad things happen, harris, and that's why this decision is important this time. bad things happen. you've said it twice. when you look at j.d. vance, is he ready on day one? >> i have always had great respect for him. and for the other candidates, too. but i will say this, and i think this is well documented.

historically the vice president in terms of the election does not have any impact. you are voting for the president and you can have a vice president who is outstanding in every way. i think j.d. is. i think all of them would have been. but you are not voting that way, you are voting for the president. you are voting for me. if you like me i'll win. if you don't like me i'm not going to win. >> harris: is j.d. vance ready on day one? he did not answer that, caroline. >> first of all, thank you for showing the other women on that stage how to be a journalist and asking a thoughtful question. look, what president trump was communicating is he is the great american warrior, you know this. you watched him take a bullet for democracy and come back to the state of pennsylvania. but he selected a fellow warrior in j.d. vance and president trump has an exceptional eye for talent and picks the best people for the job. as we continue to see i thought it was interesting i had a

colleague earlier tell me j.d. vance's book hillbilly elligy reaching number one. the more the american people get to know j.d. vance the more they want to know him. president donald trump that's an eye for talent and understands how high the stakes are for this country and so does j.d. vance. >> harris: we think how high the stakes for the world are. i look forward to speaking you again caroline and getting a statement on this from trump. let's go here. breaking news the "wall street journal." now we're able to report to you prayers answered. that reporter evan gershkovitch is now free after a prisoner swap with russia. the "wall street journal" reporting that evan's release was part of the largest and most complex prisoner exchange between russia and the west

since the cold war. evan and former marine paul whelan are back in u.s. countries, 24 prisoners in six countries. they were freed at an airport in turkey's capital. evan, paul whelan and a russian american radio journalist. we'll wait to see if that's confirmed as well. i want to bring in a retired navy captain and former pentagon official. having served you know the meaning of we leave no american behind, brent. >> thanks for having me on. this is good news but a story that's far from complete. there are still at least seven or eight more americans being held. a number of them being held for questionable and dubious reasons by vladimir putin in moscow.

so hopefully more news comes out that is positive. but the details of the overall deal are very important. it's numerous countries, germany, slovenia, poland all involved in the deal. hopefully more comes out also what was bartered to get to this point. >> harris: what does putin want in all of this? do you think money is part of the deal? some relief for his country? evan's last article before he was taken had this in it. think about this. this was on march 28th, 2020, and he was taken into custody by russian officials the next day. the opening months of russia's invasion of ukraine last year drove an increase in oil and natural gas prices that brought a windfall for moscow. those days are over. russia's economy is entering a long-term regression, said the former russian central bank official who was commenting and

this, russian billionaire warned russia is running out of cash. and then they took him the next day. we'll never know all the ins and outs, they were in trouble. your thoughts. >> i think that's right. putin wants to control the information. he also wants to control his people. so who gershkovitch was talking to also factored into the equation and why he was arrested when he was. but again, i don't think it is money. i don't think it's some type of sanctions relief that putin wants top of the list. again going back to how the griner deal was worked out with her return to the united states. it also serves a geopolitical purpose to make the united states seem weak, fickle and not very strategic in its thinking. i think what he really wants to do is undermine american's faith in our own government and own rules and laws. that's always in the back of my mind when the deals are being announced. >> harris: i want to ask a

pointed question about our hostages in gaza. i mentioned it right out of the gate on this hour. look at your screen. this is the front page of the "wall street journal" right now. "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovitch is free. and we wanted to be able to say those words. i said out of the gate let's keep our faith. we were backing off because we knew the deal had not been done. sometimes i understand, brent, when we are told as wider media, it sensitive. if you put too much out, can you back off a little bit for the lives, for the sakes of these people being returned and also the people helping them. it's not like they were delivered in u.s. custody in the united states. they are still on foreign soil. your initial thoughts of seeing this picture on the front page of the "wall street journal." >> well, good news and finally the right action was taken and

he was released back into -- returned to his family and his co-workers at the "wall street journal." the issue still stands. this is just a trickle. there are still other americans still held there and so putin will play this game again. really need to put an end to it so he can't use our own politics and basically turn this into a political victory for himself and moscow. >> harris: real quickly i was going to ask you who else will play this game. hamas is playing this game right now for what, 300 days i think we are at right now for hostages still. they have let some go when it benefited them and we know many have died. what do you say about this taking of americans and taking of citizens of other countries for leverage? >> no, it unfortunately goes back many years. you have north korea has played this game. iran is playing this game. hamas right now. my thoughts on the hamas is

actually very tragic one that most of those people that were taken either were dead on the day of october 7th and holding their bodies hostage, which is a cruel and sadistic game. not optimistic but the game is being played by an increasingly larger cast of very evil characters. >> harris: we saw what happens when we can bring americans home and we're grateful for what has happened today. brent sadler, thank you. i want to bring in steve harrigan in atlanta, georgia right now and steve you and i have known each other for many, many years and for some of that time you lived in russia, a decade. your thoughts on this day. >> my thoughts is just how far backward russia has gone. when i was over there in the good old days with yeltsin you could have a russian accreditation that meant something. you could come and go from russia. with your passport you thought nobody would bother you or make up a story about you, throw you in a notorious jail and hold you

basically as a hostage. this is a different country right now. that is what they are doing. they are taking international western journalists, making up stories, throwing them in jail. they did it with a professional basketball player, too, britteny griner. the question i think people have to ask is russia a no-go zone for athletes, journalists, business people and tourists? how far is this going to go? >> harris: you just heard i'm certain brent sadler saying we have others. i had a former national security advisor on trump at the start of this newscast said she wanted to make the point that a pennsylvania citizen is still there and praying the third person that we were reporting on would be him coming home today, the third american. so tell me, if you can, when americans vanish and are taken and we don't hear for a couple

of weeks proof of life and a conversation can be had about them. what is going on with the american citizens behind the scenes? >> it is scary to think about spending six months in a prison outside of moscow, a place where the lights never get turned and where you never see or hear anyone. if you've been in a russian prison anywhere, you know, it makes a u.s. prison look like a nice hotel in comparison. the physical endurance and stress of being in a russian prison day after day, month after month in this case for five years, it's -- it can break a person and it is just a brutal, cynical system. ask yourself why is this happening now? why is putin letting him go now? did he care about him if he spends 16 months in jail or 16 years? he doesn't care. he let him out probably because he got a great deal. >> harris: that's been a drumbeat this hour.

you aren't the first person to say it. how many more great deals do we have? can we get the eight or nine still under wraps in russian custody and suffering mightily as you describe it? >> and the bigger picture is who are we dealing with? we're dealing with a country that is at war with ukraine. can we cover that war from the russian side? can we talk to the russian people about how they feel about their leadership? the answer is no. they will throw you in jail, make up a story about you, and hold you hostage. this isn't a prisoner swap. this is the release of a hostage. they have all the sham, the courtroom, the uniforms, this is a hostage taking. >> harris: one last one for you. so paul whelan is coming home and been gone since late 2018. that's a long time to go through what you just described is really hell in custody of russian authorities. your thoughts on him. >> i think it's a brutal system.

i remember when the russians were fighting a war in chechnya. checkance started to kidnap russian journalists. they thought they were savages. right now the russian government are the savages. >> harris: you spent ten years there and we benefit from your experience. appreciate you. go to jackui heinrich at the white house. we've just learned that president joe biden will be speaking in just a few moments from now on the release of the american prisoners from russia. >> that's right, harris. this is major, major news and it came together really in an incredibly tense last-minute session of negotiations that involved russia wanting one person who was not in u.s. custody in order to facilitate this transfer. the person that they were looking for was -- president

biden had to work with the german chancellor to get evan and paul whelan and another man back to the u.s. including one additional person, legal permanent resident. so there are a total of eight people who were being held and returned to our custody -- 16 being held in russia being returned to the u.s. in exchange for eight that the russians wanted coming from germany, norway, slovenia and poland. it was facilitated in turkey. they are now wheels up. president biden has meeting with the families of these detainees at the oval office and told as soon as the plane ride gets

underway they will make a call so that those families can speak to their loved ones who are now bound back for the u.s. that will be happening in the oval office. and then later on today the president will be addressing the nation. >> harris: i'm going to step in. we've just learned that evan's mother is at the white house with president biden so when we from him in 20 minutes from now we expect that top of the hour, that it would appear that maybe we'll see evan's mom. right now they are meeting at the white house. you were able to confirm a question that i had earlier, who was that third american. we have the names of evan and paul whelan. i knew that russian american radio journalist was part of the mix. you've just confirmed that person also has gone free. any word of mark fogel? we had a guest on earlier formerly of the trump administration, national senior advisor, security advisor

victoria coates from pennsylvania, one of her citizens from 2022, mark fogel. they were hoping that he was in the mix. his family was engaged today. any word of that name or any other americans at this point being held inside russia? >> yes, so we do have some other names. mark fogel is not among the people being released. we are told that there were efforts to get mark fogel returned and that was just not going to happen. those efforts are continuing. however, along with the three u.s. citizens and one legal permanent resident there were 12 german nationals russian political prisoners returning to germany and they included a list here. [names are >> this is all coming in rapid

fire now. the families are in the oval office and any moment calling their relatives on the plane now. >> harris: this is such a big moment for the entire country. we need to bring all americans more importantly we have to stop people from taking them. good news and we'll cover this obviously. we may bring you back. jackui, hold tight and stay close. robert greenway is here. former defense intelligence agency intel officer and former national security council for the middle east and former green beret. i'll ask you about the hostages in a moment. i want your top line thoughts about what needed to happen here to free three american citizens. >> i think complex negotiations probably conducted by roger car sons, the presidential envoy for hostage affairs was successful

in releasing three american citizens and six russian felons, probably cyber criminals in u.s. custody. it is good to see americans coming home and we've incentivized hostage taking since the $6 billion paid to tehran for five americans. vikter bout swap for griner that was mentioned today and the deal just made with the venezuelans not that long ago with sanctions relief where now maduro remains in control. as long as hostage takers are invent sized americans will have a price on their head. >> harris: you hear the reporting from jackui heinrich that other countries were part of this. how does that work? do we work to get other people freed around the globe, too? talk to me about what came together here potentially? >> looks like a collective

international investment in reverse. the russians obviously staked the claim high for what it would take to get americans out. at that point probably a lot of collaboration with those holding russian citizens in detention often for serious crimes including potential assassinations and cybercrimes so we could get enough chips in our hand in order to swap across the table and get americans. it looks like we swapped six russian criminals in united states custody for three innocent americans and looks like our allies and partners did much the same thing. no one gave up as many criminals as we did today. that's what it appears. >> harris: i've often wondered because with the merchant of death you give a guy back and he is still a killer. like he -- no one has rehabilitated him. when he put him into the gene pool of crime he is as lethal as he ever was. talk about the six they would have let go. you said maybe likely

cybercrime. that's not actually light. those people can hit electrical grids and do a lot of damage all over the world. so if that turns out to be the case and that was what their expertise in crime was, talk to me about why they want some of these people back? does that give us an idea what russia might want to do? it is at war with ukraine and what it might do on the battlefield and beyond? >> absolutely. they want them back for two reasons. the benefit of having individuals that obviously are important to them that have critical capabilities. the second is the message it sends internally. hard to recruit people if they end up in custody and are abandoned. important for them to get their people back. as we know from north carolina where an am service member who washgd in ukraine was involved in a gun fight that he won against the potential chechyan to potentially assassinate. individuals have great capabilities and a great threat

to our country and they are tremendous capability for russia to get back. >> harris: we did what we needed to do apparently today because three american citizens are coming home and we understand one legal resident that would make four people and we'll continue to tap into your knowledge going forward. we appreciate you. thank you. president biden has just released a statement and it reads in part today we celebrate the return of paul, evan, vladimir, the legal resident i was mentioning and rejoice with their families and remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world and reaffirm our pledge to their families. we see you, we are with you, and we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong. so americans brought home today. that statement from the white house. we are expecting to hear directly from president biden at the top of the hour and through jackui heinrich reporting and

our own on "the faulkner focus." families are gathering. evan's mom is at the white house. so i don't know if we'll see them with the president. that's a potential. but we do know that we'll hear from him on this hostage release -- i'm calling it a hostage release. it's a prisoner swap and they are held. evan was in russia legally as a ministry-cleared and credentialed journalist there and they took him anyway. that technically would be a hostage. benjamin hall joins me with more. benjamin, you've done so much reporting around the freedom that needed to happen of our americans there but we still have some we can't get to, not yet, in russia. >> yeah, absolutely. you can only imagine how the family members of all these three americans being released must feel today. we've tried to tell their stories throughout. one of the reasons is because we

know just how terrible the conditions were for them in russia and inside those prisons. we saw evan gershkovitch six weeks ago sentenced to 16 years and had a shaved head and off to a really terrible prison camp after that. paul whelan was had for a while been in a terrible camp as well and communication with them was very difficult. an incredible moment for them, of course. now as you were saying earlier, they have formally been released and out. all the messages are coming out. president biden released a statement. secretary of state antony blinken says paul whelan and -- they are on the way from russia. we're grateful for the support we had from a number of our allies who made this deal possible. in particular germany, poland, norway and slovenia. we've seen a few deals over the

last couple of years. trevor reid and britteny griner, one-on-one prisoner swaps. this is hostages, you're right coming out of russia, 26 people were released in six different countries. the level of negotiation that goes into these kind of deals is immense and secretive. i remember the one office i found it difficult to get news from was the hostage affairs. every time i went round there they said what we have to do has to be done in total secrecy. the chief negotiator was actually given his position under secretary pompeo under president trump and someone who has been in place for many, many years. these negotiations, they continue and have done for a long time. the big question is why now? why did vladimir putin think this was the right time? i don't want to -- i couldn't say. it could be the upcoming election in the u.s., what's

happening in russia, trying to send a message to the russian people that vladimir putin won't leave behind people who had sacrificed for him. the people being released back to russia are bad guys. there was an fsb agent who assassinated a kremlin opponent in germany. there are crypto currency traders who stole a lot of money and helped weapons and money get to the russian military. they're bad people. the people being they are innocent americans and again we look at the stories. paul whelan was in russia for a wedding and picked up and they had planted a fake usb drive on him that had sensitive names on it that was he surprised about. evan gershkovitch was an assigned journalist and knew where he was going and a reporter for liberty europe. these are innocent people. there is another big question

which is why and to what degree should russia have to pay more of a price? at the moment you grab as american as iran and north korea have done and you get something in exchange. big questions about should more of a price be paid by these opposing sides? that's a question that i'm sure will go on for a long time and makes you think of hostage negotiations. just to finish up. the u.s. has a policy of not to negotiate with isis or al qaeda if they take people but will negotiate with countries like rush why and iran. a diversion of what hostage talks are like. >> harris: we have a timeline for evan and it is says -- this seemed critical. this is why this situation was so dire. on march 29th, 2024, we marked one year since his detention. then on june 26, 2024, russian court began closed-door proceedings in the case of the

"wall street journal" evan gershkovitch. on july 19th russian sentenced evan to 16 years. it seemed like things were moving with some pace at that point and now we have this turnaround and this release of not just him but two other american citizens and one legal resident. this could only come about because putin got what he wanted. >> well, that's right. in fact, putin said a few months ago that no deal would be done for evan until the court proceedings. i say those with inverted commas. they were finished. something happened quickly as if they wanted to move this ahead. six weeks after he was sentenced to 16 years then he was released. in the past we've seen court proceedings being dripped out over many months and years. so yes, you know that this came from higher up. you know this was not part of the russian court system.

this was directly from the kremlin. >> harris: all right. benjamin hall, always great to get your experience as a reporter in all of this. of course, broadly russia is in a war with a country it invaded, ukraine. you have been such an amazing reporter with regard to that and sacrificed for that reporting as well. so i just want to get your quick thoughts on how you think this could tie in with something putin would want with that war. >> well, it's difficult. you have to -- everyone would agree right now what's happening in ukraine is a stalemate. even within ukraine a rising number of people think perhaps they're moving toward some kind of settlement and deal among the population. could it be a sign from the russians as well that russia can do deals. whatever it is, you can sit down with russia and reach and agreement. is that perhaps the way they're looking? we aren't certain. it is a hard one to say.

f-16s just arrived heading to ukraine at the moment. not something that will make the russians pleased at all and yet the deal still went ahead. it is difficult to tie it into what's happening in ukraine. certainly russia is feeling the pinch at home. it is not making more land gains inside ukraine and so could they perhaps be leading to a place saying we're open for a negotiation as well. we're not sure. >> harris: meanwhile we have to -- a former guest said it and i'll say it and you laid it out. these americans were there and innocent and taken anyway knowing that things would be unfair for them in a legal system that punishes before it bothers to find out what the truth is and then we still never know from the russian government. but i refer to them now as hostages in the sense because we had to fight to get them back and that's what they were. certainly in britteny griner's case as well. we are excited about the fact that these are coming home.

we recognize russia has other americans including mark foley. we want to make sure we get his last name right. but -- okay. we had previously said mark fogel. we got that from the national security advisor under trump and i believe that's correct. we're inconsistent and we'll work on that. steve hilton now, fox news contributor, steve. in a global sense we've accomplished something so much with all these other countries as well with their citizens that are going to be going home. your top line thoughts. >> i want to echo what you've been saying and all our guests. we celebrate for evan and the others and families, particularly evan and our colleague at the "wall street journal" and emphasize the point you made these are innocent people being exchanged for guilty people. hostage is the right word. my first thought when i heard this news, harris was to the political point that benjamin touched on earlier.

why now? is there a connection with our presidential election here? because that is the crucial timing point now. putin is a highly political ply re player and you have to imagine that he sees this as part of the text. his fate, his country's fate is intimately connected with what happens just in a few months' time in our election. the question is when was this decision made by putin? was it made after or before joe biden dropped out of the presidential race? in other words, were we in a situation where putin was assuming that biden would be the candidate, would lose the election and he was going to have to deal with donald trump, or is he now assuming that with kamala harris in the race it is more open and that he can play a part in influencing our election? that's the question i think we need to answer today. >> harris: well, the way you put >> it seems like politics is part of everything.

in this moment, the good news, the great news, the fantastic faith propelled nooses three americans and one legal resident have been released. americans are coming home. i don't know how much politics could play a role. i could hope that we could be pure in this moment. i have no doubt that what you pointed out it is possible, probable. and we will learn more. we will. we will certainly learn more. talk to me a little bit about the landscape of our allies on this point as they watch us. does this make america look weaker when our people are taken, for instance, hamas takes americans under other hostages and what do we do about it on a political and geopolitical landscape? >> it has been a complex negotiation. that's a win whether diplomatic efforts that were made. that is good news. it shows that we can get things done. we should be honest about that

and be positive. as was mentioned earlier, we make these trades, innocent people for guilty people, some very, very bad people. it does create an incentive for americans to be taken. there is inconsistency in how we approach these things as benjamin pointed out. we don't negotiate with terrorist organizations. we try to get them back through other means. we say that, but in reality we do. as you see going on right now with the hostages in the middle east. i think we just need to be clear and honest and actually, we need to project strength overall. and that overall projection of strength does deter this kind of behavior. just as you see some of this taking place, more frequently, when you have a weak president in the white house, that is an incentive to all sorts of organizations whether they are state actors like

vladimir putin's russia or terrorist groups like hamas, they are all incentivized by weakness. rejecting strength is the best way we can deter this internationally. >> i want to make sure that people are focused on the great news and all of this today. we have a long road ahead of us to bring more americans all meant to make sure that our people are not continued to be taken. thank you very much. we are blessed and the families are blessed that these men and one woman become american citizens are coming home. family members are gathering at the white house. president biden will be speaking at the top of the hour. this is ""the faulkner focus"." "outnumbered" is now. >> we have major breaking news this morning. president biden expected to speak at any moment on the biggest u.s.-russian prisoners swap since