wrongfully detake people, using them as leverage in a practice that's absolutely unacceptable. >> elizabeth whelanthe biden administration earlier today about your brother, did you hear anything that suggests it's any closer to bringing him home. >> unfortunately not. we hope the u.s. government is putting all the resources toward getting paul released. >> i know your parents spoke to paul earlier this week, how is he doing? >> well, you know, he's doing as well as a person can be who's 4.5 in russian prisons. it's been a very long road for him. he was held for 20 months where evan is now being held and now two years at a prison camp in a distant province, he's trying to survive day by day. >> let's talk more about this, because we know president biden demanded the immediate release of evan today as part of world press freedom day, russia said it may consider a prisoner swap after his trial on alleged spying charges. what do you think this could mean for a prisoner >> it's so difficult to know. the russians did the same to paul, kept him four months before a sham trial, then said the discussions c

paul's sister, elizabeth whelan, took a bold step when she appeared at the united nations security councilgn minister lavrov last month, calling on the country to release her brother. >> paul was a corporate security director. he had a job he loved, a home, a life of hope and opportunity. all that has been taken away from him by russia, a country that revels in its culture of lies, its tradition of hostage diplomacy. >> reporter: and his message to president biden is simple. >> freedom is not free. it comes at a price. but the loss of freedom is even more costly, and i pay that cost every day russia holds me. please follow through with your promises and commitments. truly make my life a priority and get me home. >> reporter: kylie atwood, cnn, new york. >> let's hope he gets home soon. thanks very much, kylie, for that report. >>> to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett outfront starts right now. >>> outfront next, another russian official who criticized putin's war dead tonight as new video and outfront shows russians fighting

. >> elizabeth whelan, thank you so much. obviously we'll continue to cover your brother's story. >> thank you very much. >>> it is the meeting that could avoid financial ruin for the united states. in just minutes president biden and house speaker mccarthy will try to reach a deal at the white house when they meet. stay with us. moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. and, they felt dramatic and fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart di

in that speech, elizabeth whelan called on the russians to release her brother immediately.e was also able to watch parts of president biden's speech at the white house correspondents' dinner in which the u.s. president called for the release of americans who are wrongfully detained around the world including paul. whelan told me this might be because the russians are using this as propaganda to show that the americans are, quote, begging for one of their own. but for paul, this really helped lift his spirits to see that there are public messages here in the u.s. that make him seem like a priority and make him show that he is really -- they're working to get him home. take a listen. >> the public displays and events such as, you know, the press corps dinner and the u.n. visit demonstrate to not just me privately, but to the world, that our leaders are impacted by this and they do want me back and they are working to try to get me home. if you consider all of the people and all the agencies in my countries that are working on this, it's incredible. and i think they're going t

whelan sister elizabeth, expressing that same sentiment on good morning america last month. paul has been left behind twice. you know, that's just a fact. and it's really important that we stress that that cannot happen again. paul whelan must be a part of any deal that happens in the future. still. whelan remains hopeful, appearing satisfied that the biden administration and others continue working on his behalf. if i think there are people in dc that feel the same way and they're moving towards a compromise and resolution to this as quickly as they can. president biden spoke of whelan ning wall stre jrnite house reportervan rshkovito on espionage charg. de promising whelan and every american detainee around the world will not be forgotten. neither will i, and neither will this administration until we get him home, we'll. it also says he has the usual aches and pains from the forced labor camp where he's detained, saying it's a daily reminder of his captivity and his fight to come home. andrew rhiannon derek, thank you for that report. the battle is heating up over the influ

. >> reporter: whelan's sister elizabeth expressing that same sentiment to george last month. >> paul been left behind twice. that's just a fact. it's really important that we stress that that cannot happen again. paul whelan must be part of any deal that happens in the future. >> reporter: still, whelan remains hopeful, appearing satisfied that the biden administration and others continue working on his behalf. >> i think there are people in d.c. that feel the same way and they're moving towards a compromise and resolution to this as quickly as they can. >> reporter: whelan said his optimism comes from public messages including president biden's speech at the white house correspondents dinner last month where the president promised he would not stop fighting for whelan and the others wrongfully detained until they are home. george? >> okay, martha. thank you very much. race for the white house now. republican senator tim scott of south carolina will launch his bid for presidential nomination this morning. florida governor ron desantis also expected to announce this week. jonathan kar

. >> whelan has been wrongfully detained already since 2018 on an espionage charge. his sister, elizabethappreciate your time, and i know, you know, we've spoken regularly about your brother. of course while you have had the opportunity to hear his voice at times, we and the american people, of course, really have not. but, you know, you hear this. we hear him talk about he's optimistic he may be coming home. what do you hear in his message? >> well, i think -- oh, gosh. when i listen to that, i hear his courage and resilience on display. and i think i've got a certain amount of concern that people are listening to this and thinking, oh, he's upbeat. he's confident. you know, this is a strength he has to bring every single day. this is his courage on display, and i don't want anyone to think that he is, for some reason, content where he is. he's in a forced labor camp in russia. he's been there for almost 4 1/2 years. how would any of us feel at that point? to be able to respond the way he has, i think it's amazing. >> it is remarkable. i mean even in something he said there, elizabeth, r