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 the cold war.

other countries involved as well. "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich in united states marine veteran paul whelan are both heading home. they left turkey moments ago. they are from a russian prison is part of a multinational deal that set two dozen people to pray. hello, everyone. this is "outnumbered." i'm kayleigh mcenany with my cohost emily compagno. fox news contributor tammy tammy bruce, host of the "kennedy saves the world podcast" and fox news contributor and former white house press secretary, ari fleischer. live at the white house with more details on this developing story. what a day. they have landed off of a russian aircraft. what's happening at the white house? meeting with families on this joyous day for americans everywhere. >> just to give you a little idea of how this came together. we knew this was in the works

for several hours. and we were cautioned not to report any of this information until the detainees were wheels up and firmly in u.s. custody. we know that they have left russian custody and are in u.s. custody. the plane's wheels up, and they are on their way home. soon, the president will be on the phone in the oval office with those families calling their loved ones, speaking to many of them for the first time in many months. this all has been in the works for quite some time. we are told that russia refused to release evan and paul unless they got vadim krasikov, paid russian assassin with an fsb connection. u.s. officials are not entirely clear why they put so much importance on this individual. this person was in german custody. president biden had to ask the chancellor to agree to his release.

that conversation started earlier this year. the chancellor agreed in february. this came together over the last several months that it looks tenuous up until completed a few months ago. they were 6 countries involved in this release. the biggest prisoner exchange since the cold war. we are told by a u.s. official that an hour before president biden announced that he was dropping out of the race last sunday, he was on the phone with his slovenian counterpart urging them to make the final arrangements and ensure that this gets across the finish line. we are told that this exchange does not signal some sort of new level of cooperation with russia. they were able to compartmentalize the dealings they have had whether russia trying to come after them on their aggression toward ukraine and put this exchange in a separate box and get that done. this is a very big deal.

the president is going to be flanked by families and will address the country and get more details on how this came together in a little while here. then they will land later this afternoon at joint base andrews. they will then go on to a military base in another state while they will receive some medical treatment. we have not been given many details on their condition or how their spirits are. we expect to hear more about that from the president had, families and they address the country in a little while from now. i will also add that the death -- might complicate this transfer. complicated the negotiations that were underway at that time. it looks for a moment that it might not happen. but we are told that jake sullivan, the national security advisor deserves some credit. ensuring this got pushed across the finish line and that the

president all the way up until the end was calling his counterparts to ensure that this came to pass. very good news. 16 individuals who were in russian custody now being returned in exchange for 8 that russia wanted. the big fish was vadim krasikov. that is the latest. >> it is important to put this in perspective for these families. evan gershkovich was kept in a nine by 12-foot cell in a prison that during the soviet era was known for the torture of journalists. now he is free. that part of your reporting of a senior administration official told fox that the wind was taken out of the sails of the biden team for a moment. it was jake sullivan who said we have made an assurance to this family of evan gershkovich at the state of the union. we are committed to freeing evan and paul whelan. it appears to have happen. there seems to be some resolve among the leadership in the

biden white house to make this moment possible. >> we should also mention the officials we spoke to were asked about marc fogel who is not part of this release. we are told that they made every effort to get him included. it was just not going to happen this time in those efforts continue. obviously very good news. we should point out that these 16 people who are wrongfully detained in russia were wrongfully detained. the people who were being released are obviously criminals. the administration said they had to make a lot of tough calls to get these people home. the tough call was expanded across all their leadership across the countries that were involved including with germany releasing vadim krasikov. they felt that this was an appropriate deal. they are awaiting their return at this point. those families, i'm sure, are having a very emotional moment right now in the oval office.

>> you mention vadim krasikov who was in german custody. a senior administration official told fox that it was this call that you referenced by president biden to the chancellor of germany. the follow-up visit in february. according to our reporting, they say basically, the chancellor responded to the president saying for you, i will do this. the president then turned to jake and said, get it done. seems like months and months if not years of american diplomacy in the case of paul whelan. >> from the administration's perspective, they say this really highlights the importance of international partnerships with other foreign leaders. biden was able to relate on his relationship and get something that initially they weren't comfortable doing. it was a difference maker in getting these individuals home. there are by the way 12 german political prisoners who are

among the 16 detainees who are returning home. so, germany obviously is getting their people back as well. vadim krasikov for whatever reason was that big fish that russia wanted and still unclear to the u.s. exactly why russia placed so much importance on vadim krasikov specifically. they say found this negotiation and from others, they always learn more about russia's priorities. but they will then what they won't do. where they placed their values. they want to apply what they have learned to the efforts that are continuing to try to get marc fogel home. >> keep us updated. we will take resident biden's remarks as soon as they take place. as spring in hugh dugan. we worked in the white house at the same time. quite a record and hostage negotiations, directly involved

in the release of over 25 hostages and wrongful detainees. that was the record for whom you worked. negotiating deals like this. take us into these final moments. what is it like as a national security advisor waiting to hear about them moment in american blaze foots on friendly territory. >> thank you for having me. i was acting special presidential envoy for several months after robert moved to the white house. it is a very intense moment. it must be very respectful of whatever truce-like moments exist among the various parties. some get into -- a poker table and some people want to be dealt and at the last minute. others are standing by. trying to influence the outcome. it is not really done until that is done. it feels good when the aircraft land in a neutral space.

there can be custody taken by the correct home of that person. we have to look at this geopolitical motivation for russia's action right now. i believe a lot of this is conditioned on the fact that there is an election coming up. they would like to not deal with donald trump. they are timing this perhaps to get a bit of a boost before the democratic national convention coming very soon. i think russia wants to appear more consequential on the world stage. currently he is being rather humiliated by being excluded from the olympic games which is certainly the case. they have misbehaved over previous olympic cycles. georgia, crimea, ukraine during olympics. they don't have the capacity to invade anybody right now. they are using a charm offense to take this open moment when

the news cycle isn't so full and fill it up with what they want us to see. >> the geopolitical motivations are interesting. i want to read you a passage from "the wall street journal" report that came out. "the state department classifies a number of countries including russia and north korea is posing such a serious risk of detention and it discourages americans from visiting privately. u.s. officials called them abductor states and fear their number will grow unless there are new measures to deter them. what measures should we put in place to deter abductor states? a steak dinner there with the blessing of the russian government as a foreign journalist. he is whisked away to a russian prison for 500 days. >> we have to make this heinous act of taking people wrongfully. we have to make it extremely expensive. we have to demonstrate the consequences if a state is willing to practice this horrible form of -- it is

archaic. we have to come out of this episode, demonstrating that we were able to drive the bus on this that we exerted our type of conditions that others might want to study before considering repeating this act. unfortunately, over the last 20 years, the incidence of foreign countries taking americans as hostage has grown more than terrorists taking hostages. the trend has been up. it is disturbing. mostly russia, mostly china. together, those 2 account for more than half. diplomatic countries that take our people wrongfully and hold them as they have. >> is the answer sanctions? what kind of deterrence is meaningful in the mind of ru russia? >> that is a very important lesson to learn. we spent millions of dollars developing nuclear deterrence. we have to figure out what it

comes to hostage work. we don't study it well until it happens to us and we are always on our back but. we have to get deeper thought to how we analyze the threat of asymmetric power thrown at us. taking one american, they can drive the agenda of the u.s. foreign policy. we have to study this as a country and get more concerted attention and develop the consequences which are meaningful to the capture states. we have to identify the mind-set of that state of the regime and find those tender achilles' heel points and really drive them home and let them know that this is unacceptable and let your friends know that they shouldn't try it as well. >> finding the tender achilles' heel of russia. that is indeed the task at hand. vice president kamala harris and soon to democratic nominee for president out with the statement moments ago.

>> unjustly held in russia. it gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is over and that they will soon be reunited with their families. the president and i will not stop working until every american was wrongfully detained or held hostages brought home. "the more i read about these conditions, it is really something. paul whelan was held in unheated barracks with black mold. evan gershkovich was held -- according to a journalist called it a psychologically tortuous placement to make prisoners feel isolated and abandoned. >> can we all stipulate that russia is a brutal place to which no american should travel again? when president biden speaks today, i would like the president to say "don't go to russia." under no circumstance should any businessman or businesswoman or sports person go to russia. if you do, you put yourself at

great risk. otherwise, all we are doing is providing russia with future people to take hostage. this is what we need to recognize about vladimir putin and the regime. it is a joyous days for the family. the reunification of those families with their loved ones. of course, it is everything they are yearning for. what about the assassin who is released? what about the victims? what about their family who see somebody being released from prison? this is why you have to call russia what it is. i hope every american realizes it is russia and china and iran. why would any american go to any of these places? >> we are a minute away from hearing from president biden. >> don't go to russia or iran or china. you place yourself at great risk. the rest should be a joyous celebration. that is appropriate. they deserve it.

their family member was held hostage. i want to see something future looking as well as the joyous moment. otherwise we will be back on the accounts having the same conversation when russia does it again. >> any moment we will say president biden take the podium and hopefully issue that warning about other countries. to your point, remembering these hostages, their families. the family of evan gershkovich, they said they used to play remote chest as much as they could. i heard evans father say i look forward to the day we can play chess in person again. that day is today. >> that is why from a personal point of view, this is nothing but joy. government is more than a personal point of view. government has to take into account the next time this will happen. governments job is to stop it and deter it. i'm looking for president biden to say the right words. if it's just a celebration, he setting us up for it to happen

again. >> consider downstream effects to put into contrast. these are abductor states. the terror abductor states by finding that achilles' heel and hitting it hard and ensuring they know there are consequences for taking american citizens abroad. >> just to highlight and emphasize what jacqui heinrich, her reporting, cbs reporting that we reached out to kuwait and rizzo once we had a semblance on the table that a deal might be possible, they declined our conversations. we leaned heavily on the german chancellor. reports are that the chancellor said to president biden, i will do this for you. 1 hour after president biden reached out to his slovenian counterpart to say we have this deal, it was then he announced he was not running for reelection. it underscores the importance that he is our president now and every minute we have a commander in chief that is acting with our great interest in mind as he fulfills those duties.

>> we think about journalism today. it shouldn't go without mentioning that the last article he wrote was march 1st 2023. russia's economy is starting to come undone. he was fearless in his reporting. on the 29th, he is abducted. >> i think we have had all the marks here that this is a nation at war with another nation. this opens up the dynamic of hostage taking. marc fogel, he is still there. 2021, half an ounce of marijuana, he is a schoolteacher. that is who is rotting in a russian jail. when you say don't go to russia, if you are a journalist or a schoolteacher or a basketball player, it seems relevant to issues that concern. i do think that when you are dealing with journalism, it is hard if you want to go and

report at a place. it is better to be present with whatever you are reporting on. you also have to think the long game. how good are you are if you are in a jail sale? perhaps in different ways. everyone has to address that as effectively the world at war. >> we have seen someone lay out notes on the president's podium. we will take our viewers there the moment he comes out. these are really big moments. here he comes, president biden in the white house. >> president biden: hello, everyone. everybody. good afternoon. this is a very good afternoon, a very good afternoon. today, we are bringing home paul, evan, alsu kurmasheva, vladimir kara-murza. three american citizens and one

american green card holder. all 4 imprisoned unjustly in russia. paul for nearly six to ten years and vladimir since 2022. evan since march of 2023. and alsu kurmasheva since october of 2023. russian authorities arrested them and convicted them and show trials and sentenced them to long prison terms. no legitimate reason whatsoever, none. paul, a former marine who was in russia for a wedding. evan, a journalist in russia -- was in russia assigned by "the wall street journal." alsu was a journalist in russia to see family. all three falsely accused of being spies. vladimir was a russian citizen by birth and holds an american green card. a pulitzer prize-winning journalist and was the pallbearer of my friend john mccain's funeral with me. he spoke out against putin's regime. by that, he was convicted of

treason. and now, the brutal ordeal is over. they are free. moments ago, the families and in the telephone from the oval office. they are out of russia. earlier today, they are flown to turkey. soon, they will be wheels up on their way home to see their families. this is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here. it is a relief to their friends and colleagues all across the country who have been praying for this day for a long time. the deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship, friendship. multiple countries helped get this done. they joined a difficult complex negotiation that my request. i personally thank them all again. i have thanked them personally, and i think them again. all told russia has released 16 prisoners.

8 russians held in the west will be sent home as well. 16 prisoners from russia includ, 7 russian citizens who are political prisoners in their own country. one of those russians runs a human rights organization which won a nobel prize in 2022. putin threw them in prison for voicing opposition to the war in ukraine. 4 others worked with the -- died in russia prison this year. now they can live safely abroad and continue their work of advocating for democracy if they so choose. this deal would not have been made possible without our allies, germany, poland, slovenia, poland, turkey. they stood up and stood with us. they stood with us. they made bold and brave decisions, released prisoners being held in their countries. provided logistical support to

get the americans home. questions whether allies matter, they do, they matter. today is a powerful example of why it is vital to have friends in this world. friends you can trust and work with and depend upon. especially matters of great consequence. our alliances make our people safer. we begin to see that again today. let me say this. it says a lot about the united states that we worked relentlessly to free americans who were unjustly held around the world. it also says a lot about us that this deal includes the release of russian political prisoners. they stood up for democracy and human rights. their own leaders threw them in prison. the united states help secure their release as well. that is who we are in the united states. we stand for freedom and liberty and justice. not only for our own people, but for others as well.

that is why all americans can take pride in what we have achieved today. i want to thank everyone in my administration who helped make this happen. our work did not start on day one tan. it started before day 1. during the transition, i instructed our national security team to dig into all the cases of hostages being wrongfully detained -- which were inherently -- inherited from the prior administration. i want to make sure we hit the ground running, and we did. as of today, my administration brought home over 70 americans who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad. many since before i took office. i issued an executive order in 2022 authorizing penalties like sanctions and travel ban's on those who hold americans against their will. my state department has issued new warnings to americans of the

risk of being wrongfully detained by a foreign government. deals like this, liftoff calls. never any guarantees. nothing that matters more to me than protecting americans at home and abroad. he will continue to work for the release of all wrongfully detained americans around the world. let me end where i began with paul, evan, alsu, vladimir and their families. they never gave up hope. we can't imagine what they have been through. [interstate] can't imagine the joy right now. they are home. tomorrow is a big day, 13th birthday come here. you all know we have a tradition in the biden family. we sing happy birthday.

are you ready? all of you. ♪ happy birthday to you mama happy birthday to you ♪ ♪ happy birthday ♪ ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ member, no serious guys until you are 30. god love you. she is alsu's daughter. now she gets to celebrate with her mom. that is what this is all about, families. able to be together again. like they should have been all along. i want to thank you again to everyone who did their part. in just a few hours, we will welcome home our fellow americans. we are looking forward to that. god willing, we are going to be out and get that done. thank you, thank you, thank you. it's a good day. >> what did you say when the answer the phone on the other side? >> president biden: i said welcome almost home.

>> so-called abductor states, taking more americans in order to get more -- how do you end these perverse incentives? >> president biden: advising people not to go certain places and tell them what is at risk and what is at stake. >> negotiation and speak to the complexity of working with 6 countries. >> president biden: i'm not going to take that time now. i will do this later in the w week. i'm not particularly on a great sense of gratitude -- the demands they are making of me required me to give some significant concessions from germany -- which they originally concluded they could not do because of the person in question. but everybody stepped up. slovenia stepped up. turkey stepped up. and it matters to have relationships. it really does.

these things matter. pardon me? >> good this improve relations with russia by the avenue for that after the prisoner exchange deal? >> president biden: as my sister would say, your lips to god's ears, man. >> would you be willing to speak with putin directly? >> president biden: i don't need to speak with putin. [reporter question] >> president biden: we got home innocent people. thank you. all right. thank you. [indistinct] >> president biden: say that again. i have spoken to all the leaders about this. as a father. look, you have heard me say this before. i mean it.

-- sample proposition. family is the beginning them in the middle and the end. blood off my blood and bone of my bone. i can think of nothing consequential. having lost family in a different way, not knowing what is happening in the circumstance -- it matters. >> in response for their cooperation. >> president biden: nothing. >> president trump said repeatedly he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange. what do you say to that? what do you say to president trump? >> president biden: why didn't he do it when he was president? >> that was president biden at the white house moments ago. he said that a brutal ordeal is over and these hostages are now free. he spoke to the incredible relief for all these families

saying, "i cannot imagine their joy right now." and then he took questions. that was an important moment. the first question he was asked appeared to be, what do you tell these abductor states, the ones we just described. the state department says not to go to. his answer was, i tell people not to go there. one of them things that is evident, that i feel is missing in all of this. and i just think to the biden white house in general, he has been missing these moments where what do you tell hamas as they are holding american hostages? you have never had that clear-eyed moment where he looks in the camera and says, set them free. when you are asked a question about abductor states, one would think you would tell the abductor states, if you harm the hair on the head of an american citizen, there will be hell to pay. >> an awkward series of remarks by president biden which should have been a slam-dunk welcome

home express the joy he sends message to russia to the american people, don't go. he turned it into some awkward moment especially with that young child who he told them i don't date anybody seriously until you are 30 years old. why would he even get into that? this is just biden in one of the reasons i think he is not running because of what we just saw today. he also took a shot at the speech and administration when he said why didn't trump do it? correct me if i'm wrong, that is because none of these hostages were taken. >> i think paul whelan was taken but not evan gershkovich. >> "the wall street journal" was not then vladimir was not. the one that we have all focused on, mostly focused on, the wall street journalist taken under joe biden. all presidents have had people taken hostage under them in recent times. the question is as an american president project strength or weakness. i think what we are seeing here is not strength.

>> on the trump administration did have quite a record of releasing hostages. robert o'brien during his tenure alone, he oversaw the release of 25 hostages. the other question biden was asked and we are hearing to the best of our ability is did you speak with putin? i don't need to. what is putin getting response to operation? nothing. that clear-eyed moment where you have the world microphone to communicate to every dictator across the world, american strength, that moment was lacking. >> there were a dozen that were released for two dozen russian assets that they wanted back including vadim krasikov who is an assassin. clearly, there was something given in return for this. that was disingenuous. i about the president didn't look quite as sharp as he has in the past couple of weeks. that is certainly saying something.

i think that was a very awkward moment to pull a 13-year-old girl and too probably and viewed press conference. the mood he didn't need to be lightened. we needed to be reminded of the gravity of this. all i can think about are these families. their relief -- they don't feel that relief yet. they are still very much in what is essentially purgatory and that mental state between the release and the reunion with her family. i cannot wait to hear evidence story. i cannot wait to hear what happened. then we will see revealed the seriousness and the harshness with which he was detained. then we will hear about the circumstances under which he was held and died. those are things we cannot forget on a day like today. the president squanders this moment when he talks about, from your lips to god's ears. half a sentence later, i don't need to talk to putin. i don't know what that is telegraphing about our foreign policy and the ability of this

administration, and god forbid, a harris administration to deal with gravely serious circumstances like these. >> let's bring in jacqui heinrich. you are in the room. what was the reaction? >> just to clarify the numbers. i know i can sound confusing. it was 16 for 8. 12 german nationals who were political prisoners in russia heading back to germany. 4 americans, 3 citizens and a green card holder heading back to the u.s. in exchange f for 8 people from a variety of different countries where they are being held now going back to russia. only three of the people who russia is getting back are coming from the u.s. 16 for 8 is obviously different from the other prisoner swaps we have seen under this administration. going back to the around swap them and money exchanged here either. i thought it was notable that the president didn't

discussing and say and have that car moment. he is flanked by thesey moment. as we werehe entire time that they were being transported to turkey. because anything could have derailed this. especially with the number of countries involved. there were a lot of moving pa parts. high-stakes situation for all these families who are breathing a sigh of relief and having a celebratory moment with the president. i wouldn't be surprised if we get more from their briefing today where jake sullivan is going to speak to the u.s.-russian relationship and how if at all this has been changed. what we were told and a tight circle of reporters were given a preview of this. this really doesn't change the u.s. relationship with a rush up or they compartmentalize this prisoner swap and still are going after them on all the same issues that we have been pursuing, especially as it

relates to their aggression in europe and toward ukraine. that will remain. they were able to negotiate this deal because of the earnest interest in getting these folks home. i think it is also notable that the president said that this came together because of friendship and diplomacy. that is a pat on his own back. he has these long-standing relationships with these foreign leaders. you hear him talk about it when he goes to these international summits, the relationships he has across other countries. and he leaned heavily on his relationship with scholz to get germany to release the key person that russia wanted, vadim krasikov. it is still unclear to u.s. officials exactly why they play so much importance on that individual. obviously, he is a bad guy who has been a paid assassin for russia and has victims in germany whose families obviously are not going to be pleased to hear the news that he is being

released. we were also told that she had any of these people who were headed back to russia give any excuse for their arrest, the eyes are on them basically. really a monumental moment for the families and the president and his remarks on celebrating their return more than speaking to the foreign policy aspect of it. >> i want to ensure that i've heard this correctly amid the chaos. the questions were being shouted. the first question was about your message to abductor states and the response appeared to be futile american citizens not to go. is that correct? >> that is what i heard. we can't ensure their safety. we see this happen with the state department when they put out advisories, do not travel. it is because it is so difficult for the u.s. to bring people home when they are in the custody of a hostile nation. we see what it takes to get their return to heaven.

obviously, these were complex situations. evan was licensed to report in russia. he had a reporting credential from the foreign ministry and was accused wrongly of spying. you also had alsu who is visiting family there. they were willing to capitalize on the presence of anyone who has a connection to the u.s. so that they can extract what they want. in this case, we know what they wanted was vadim krasikov and a few others. only three of the total of 8 where within u.s. considine. we had to rely on slovenia and poland and germany to get the others back in order to facilitate this. >> thank you. let's go to benjamin hall who is in london for more reaction to the historic prisoner swap. benjamin, the first question about what do you tell abductor states in one of those abductor states being russia who took the first foreign journalist in

evan gershkovich since the war. this was an historic thing that russia chose to do. the response of the president was, until american citizens not to go. we have an americans that alleged journalist who do heroic things are going to places that are dangerous to bring the free world information. your thoughts on that. >> it is one of the biggest questions. we have seen countries like north korea and iran and russia use hostage diplomacy. they pick up innocent americans, because they know they can get something. it is understandable that the administration will always try to make a deal. it should be a message alongside that that says if you take an american citizen, there will be huge consequences to pay. that message has never really come across. that is interesting. telling people not to go to that country but it's not a these countries. i would say that if any country looks at this, they will have it in their mind that they can pick up an american, and they will get a deal as well.

they will get people back where they want. to pick up on what jacqui was talking about on vadim krasikov on how he was one important person that russia really wanted back. i think it is interesting to say that this deal looked like it had happened last year. it was the death of who is being held by russia that perhaps put an end back to it. this is quite a big deal inside germany as well that they are releasing this killer. germans needed to get someone back and return. his death really put a brink on this barely even working to get this deal wider. we have been seeing that as w well. it could have been a press conference for love, we have got innocent people home. here are their families. we will make sure this never happens again by sending this strong message. it went away from that which is a pity. one other thing i found interesting is when president biden said as soon as it was during the transition of his administration, they started working.

hhe said we inherited these from the prior administration. a strange word. shifting blame. a couple of interesting answers. these three americans are home, green card holder. three of them are journalists. big questions have to be asked. we will start to learn more over the coming days. >> i have a moment here. this is a joyous moment for these families. nothing should be taken away from that moment for these families. you mentioned vadim krasikov. i want to highlight a headline i'm looking at. "russia ordered assassination of chechen rebel in berlin park." i believe it was a playground. you want to read that it was a berlin court that jailed krasikov for life in prison after he murdered and i scents in broad daylight in a park.

this guy is not a good guy. >> no, he is really a bad guy and one that russia has wanted to get back. he was out there killing dissidents. he was someone, a russian who was exchanged many years ago to the u.k. in a swap deal as well. russia sent someone and killed him. for all these dissidents who have been released, in the past, dissidents have been released only to be killed by these kind of guys like people like krasikov. they may be released, but they should certainly watch their backs. >> we had spoken about the need to issue a warning to american citizens not to go abroad. we heard a little doubt that. bill lacking was the message to our foes. >> which was strange because if you are a dad in the home and you've got a gang in the neighborhood, you are going to make statements. the thing you can do immediately without any real cost to say

stay away from us, because we are going to protect our home. i have had to do that in the subway. i carry mace. you can tell a guy coming up. i had to say once, this is a mistake. i am not the one you are going to do this to today. this is a mistake. they want usually easy targets. america may seem easy right now. that is why it is going to happen. with this dynamic and without the threat, it means other actors. we see what's going on with iran and israel and the nature of what is happening in the middle east. thousands of americans in the middle east generally. dual citizens and tourists, et cetera. it's a problem. that is the weakness that we s see. weakness invites this. it is good that they are going to get a message that we will get our americans back. the best scenario is that countries don't take americans.

because they know that something might happen. some of the unpredictability of president trump invites and imaginations about the what the price may be that you have to pay. >> unless america is willing to start snatching russians were sending commando teams to moscow, you don't have any alternative means to get people back another than to negotiate. we need to get more tough on americans who travel abroad. maybe congress needs to pass a law prohibiting travel of americans to russia. this is going to keep going, because we don't have alternative means. >> these parents, they are waiting to hear wheels up from turkey. biden could not say wheels up from turkey. we await that. you have to engage in strategic national security. it's a 2-foot task that the president has at any given time. >> to enterprise -- deterrence

is the most important thing. you don't need to have this delicate balance and diplomacy and leading on their allies when you have set a clear boundary that foes dare not traverse. we have the state department spokesperson in tokyo, japan, telling us that secretary of state blinken just called paul and alsu and evan altogether and told them how happy that he was that they were on their way home and said the president was determined to get you home. he said we are so happy. i want to underscore as well something that kennedy talked about. getting to the root and wondering how these people were treated. i have to underscore that russia's memory is quite long. they have changed nothing. they were all treated the same. he died in 2009. the reason we have the act which was under the obama administration which was when joe biden was vice president.

it is also how and why annexing a multi-mistreated. there is no shock or surprise at the brutality of this regime that somehow the ephemeral nature of america's memory pales against. russia has a forgotten or changed. to underscore the complexity of this exchange and that gravity of who we released in germany, jacqui heinrich reporting that senior administration officials talk about that. lots of tough calls throughout this exchange of senior administration official have said. certainly krasikov was a tougher call leaders had to make to accept essentially the part of the deal. a final quote, i don't think anybody here on the u.s. side has a full complete contextual picture of why krasikov was treated with a priority he was by the russian side. fsp connection, paid assassin, ordered to conduct the assassinations. he is a bad dude. this senior administration official said.

member of the russian intelligence services. they considered henneman asset and wanted him back and underscoring them it is no small thing for the government to let him go. >> a big price letting that guy out. you have to make these decisions. it's part of being commander in chief when you engage in a prisoner swap. our commander in chief makes those decisions. let's go to foreign -- national security advisor's office in the west wing. also at the state department. i am told you have new information. >> we just learned that after working on the release of the prisoners over the last few months, personally, the secretary of state, antony blinken has spoken with the american prisoners released today and congratulated them. this has been a personal project for him. paul whelan being in rushing custody for the better part of d up. he has been intimately involved in every step along the way with

getting to this deal. new information we are just getting now is that the biden administration believed in april of 2023 that they had an opening following on the heels of their release of wnba player brittney griner. they found out about the high profile russian that was on their sides, the russians really wanted to get released. he was in germany captivity. jacqui mentioned him a moment ago. lincoln tried to strike a deal with germany's foreign ministry directly. the administration went over her head essentially and negotiated directly with chancellor scholz at the time but wasn't able to pull a deal together in time. that was the origins of getting paul whelan released today. something that has been in the works for 6 years now. the germans agreed to release this high profile russian criminal in a exchange for paul whelan. we are getting details of the machinations went on behind the

scenes. our producer just managed to confirm with the turks some more information of how they manage the ongoing negotiations in recent months between all the parties from all 7 countries that were represented today. 26 prisoners. obviously 3 americans are front and center for us. 26 political prisoners released in total. a lot of complicated negot negotiating. the turkish intelligence office was on the lead. we are learning more about the role that the cia may have played in liaising with them to get this deal done today. but a big victory for the turks, obviously. a big moment for the u.s. turkish bilateral relationship. this is an exceptionally high profile event to happen for the biden administration and families of all of these people. quick note, one of the prisoners released today, vladimir

kara-murza, not as high-profile as some of the others. he has been a fierce and outspoken critic of vladimir putin himself for years. he was imprisoned over the last 2 years. he was released today. we had the chance to sit down and interview him. he had been poisoned 2 consecutive times by kremlin operatives and almost died in a hospital overseas in the u.k. his return to u.s. oil will be a big deal as well. >> that is interesting information for the release of brittney griner. there was something that spearheaded the disappointed families at that time up paul whelan and evan gershkovich and an impetus for their release. i can only imagine the family of marc fogel today hoping there was some impetus today that leads to his release. thank you for that release. we certainly hope so. let's bring in fox news chief political anchor bret baier. when you listen to the president's words, in the first question that was asked about

what you say to abductor states and the response being, don't go to these places. i just wonder about the future of journalism, the future of bright journalists who want to shine a light on otherwise authoritarian despotic and opaque regimes. i wonder if that message applies to journalism as well. >> good afternoon. that is a good question. i think there are big questions going forward. let's take 30,000 feet on this day. it is tremendous to get these people back. looking into this deal, it is going to play out exactly who these people are and what it meant to get them back. on its face, it is the biggest trade like this that we have seen between russia and the w west. and it is interesting to get into the dynamics of the process. we knew a lot about this. there was a lot of secrecy and holding back sensitive information, because we wanted to get them on that plane, heading towards the u.s.

now they are there. we got a statement with global reach. i interviewed him a few on special report. intimately involved in all these hostage negotiations. he said this was an important moment. i will read something he wrote. "the exchange of prisoners that occurred in russia today is important moment for the detainees and their family. when american is arrested abroad for political purposes, it's not because of something they did, but rather because they carry the blue passport of the u.s. it is the responsibility of our government to do what is necessary to get them back to their families and freedom. sometimes the choices that must be made are distasteful. protecting americans is the first obligation of any president." he goes on to say that there are some 10 americans being held hostage at 36 wrongfully detained abroad. there's other people out there. finishes with this. "some may argue that engaging in trades encourages future hostagetaking. studies have shown that there is no causal link to confirm that.

beyond the data, there is an important moral issue. we should always put the interest of an innocent american held abroad above those of a guilty foreigner in our prisons." that is the ceo of "global reach" and was intimately involved in this and we will hear more about that in days to come. >> finding that achilles' heel of an authoritarian regime in that kind of pressure points that are meaningful to them is going to be key going forward. you have covered a lot of these moments that are huge moments in history. especially when you get to see the faces of the family members reuniting with their loved one. i think about the father of evan, who said "i look forward to playing chess face to face with him." the american people are in store of the unification when it happens in the days to come. >> and sounds like it might even happen tonight. that'll be fantastic to see.

that is what we have to think about. these are real people. evan gershkovich, we and our corporate tent and umbrella have been pulling for this moment for a long time. keeping the names out there. keeping talking about it was part of the plan. it took a long, long time. think about paul whelan. he goes there in 2018. it is some 6 years later. he went for a buddy's wedding. 6 years later, he is finally getting out. these are humans. this is a big story for america. obviously it's a political story as well and has implications. but then biden administration can take credit for at least stringing this altogether and getting the allies to come together for this big deal. we will find out more about it as days go on. >> i'm and treat that it was on the heels of their brittney griner release where you had these families, paul whelan's brother expressing disappointment that it was there the impetus came for the release of his brother, the impetus for the release of evan gershkovich.

we hope there is an impetus for the release of marc fogel. >> definitely. this is how it goes. these are dominoes. you have to have everything fall into place. i said earlier, three-dimensional chess. mickey bergman actually wrote a book about this effort of getting hostages back home. i think that it is something that is very complex on a number of different levels bear this morning as we were reporting it, it was really sensitive. there was a problem i had there been a problem, you could have had the whole thing fall apart. that is how sensitive it was. now it is not an those are aptly families to come. >> and mayer, thank you >> i noticed that the senator bob casey from pennsylvania and was just talking about marc fogel and essentially saying, what we need to do is keep his name out there

and expressing gratitude for the americans coming on. also saying there are people still including marc fogel. i want to point out not to beat a dead horse. one of those released, she was a reporter for the radio liberty. it was that entity that had reported extensively after he was murdered on the commonalities between that. there are repercussions here for free journalism's and repercussions for those reporting freely on the atrocities occurring within russia that they then react to seemingly impunity. >> you wonder about the future of journalism. how are we going -- >> i think benjamin hall has one of the most important voices here. if you read his book, not only do you hear what happened to him in ukraine but the other war zones and dangerous places that he traveled throughout the world and how critically important that is. if we don't hear the message, if we don't get a full picture of

that story painted for us as americans, who can get lost in our comfortable lives, then we lose sight of people who are still held over there like marc fogel and others whose names we have never even lea learned. it is because of the heroism in journalism that we are still talking about these things. i do hope that this becomes a key point in a debate between vice president harris and former president trump. so far we haven't been doing it right in terms of russia. we have to do things diffe differently. not only in the face of that conflict with ukraine about the incentive for abducting americans for their personal and political gain. we have to have a very different conversation about foreign policy and these candidates have to be pressed on that. >> i want to make 2 points. will this result in an improvement in relations with russia, his answer was from your lips to god's ears.

this should lead to a deterioration of our relations with russia. this should lead to people opening their eyes and recognizing how immoral vladimir putin is and how the state of russia will act on the basis of immorality to kidnap americans. there should be a worsening. as for the journalism question, journalists do provide a vital service and incredible gravy to go behind lines no journalist has the right to take america's foreign policy hostage if you can use that word. that is what happens when you do. what you do is noble and important and serves our country. you should go to russia and north korea. you should go to iran. now, because if you go can you jeopardize america's foreign policy. you jeopardize that family in germany whose children were assassinated in a park by releasing the assassin. >> or you allow those regimes to operate again. that is the other rest. they use fear as a tool.

no one gets to tell those stories. violence. >> we will hear their story is probably from german reporters are slovenian reporters are polish reporters. why doesn't have to american reporters? >> when you go on evan gershkovich's profile, you normally have a journalist description of the great work they have done. you certainly have that with evan. the next and his evan was a "wall street journal" reporter detained on march 292023 while doing his job as a journalist. >> for american leadership, americans should be able to do their jobs without having to adjust their lives especially when their job is to report on these kinds of regimes. is the only way we can learn about it. it's not about adjusting to resumed continual weakness of american leadership and demanding that we have leadership that allows someone to do his job without having this happen to him and his family.

>> there will be other journalists who are activated. they know better than anyone that where they are going, and american leadership and special forces will not necessarily be able to protect them. that is what makes what they do that much more important and sacred. that is why it is codified in the first amendment. >> the boyfriend, the russian ballerina currently held captive in russia. he says please, everyone, keep it alive so we can hopefully look forward to welcoming her home in the future. >> is a big day. 3 american citizens released an. thanks for joining us on because they are out of russia. earlier today they were flown to turkey and soon they will be wheels up on their way home he could tell mike to see their families. this is an incredibl