. >> after years in chinese prisons, three americans are heading home tonight, mark swidan, kai li , and john leung. now safely in u.s. custody according to the white house. the rare prisoner swap in the works for months. we spoke to the u.s. ambassador here last month. >> they were prosecuted and convicted of crimes which they did not commit. there was no reason to put them in jail. >> mark swidan was on death row since 2012 on drug charges kai li , accused of spying and jailed after a closed door trial. china says their cases were handled according to law leaving families to lobby congress to do more. >> what about my dad? when will it be his turn? >> china jailed john leung, accusing him of being an fbi informant . >> getting detained americans released here even to facilities back home is complicated because there's no agreement between the countries to transfer prisoners. >> according to a u.s. official, the u.s. handing back to chinese nationals in return including, a convicted spy prosecutors link to chinese state security. and china release the americans hours after president

their names are kai li, john leung, and mark swidan. longest of the three. a businessman from texas, he was facing the death penalty for a narcotics conviction. 0n the other side, the new york times reports the us released a chinese national who was facing 20 years after being convicted of espionage. the prisoner swap was the result of years of diplomacy. most recently, president biden raised the issue of americans detained in china directly with president xijinping at the apec summit in peru. john kamm is the executive director of the dui hui foundation, a human rights group that pushes for the release of those detained in china. i have been speaking to him earlier. as we heard there, this was really in exchange, wasn't it, that was in the works for many months. what's your reaction to this deal? three americans freed in exchange for one chinese citizen. this is good news, coming as it does on the eve of thanksgiving. the families are naturally delighted. i do not know about the chinese citizen who was released, i've seen reports but t

after 12 years of what the state department calls wrongful detention in china, texas businessman mark swidan is finally returning home. he was on death row in china in what his congressional supporters say were bogus charges. he suffered brutal abuse and neglect according to john kamm, a human rights leader who advocated for swidan's release. >> he is a shadow of his former self. >> reporter: mistreated, malnourished, and physically damaged. >> absolutely. he has been shackled, hand and foot, he has suffered a great deal. >> reporter: two months ago swidan's mother told congress her son's absence has left a gaping hole in our hearts. also released, american john leung, accused of espionage and held since 2021, and ky lee accused of espionage. his son pressed for his father's release. >> it's been so long that the absence of my dad, it feels like a permanent void. >> reporter: no announcement of what america gave china in return or any statement from china about why it agreed. >> i think they want to say a fond farewell to president biden. it's a message to mr. donald trump, that's very impor

mark swidan, kai li, and john leung are on planes heading back to the united states.eaking face-to- face just 10 days ago. joining us now, daniele hamamdjian. there is so little information about these hostages. what do we know conclusively? >> reporter: well, i will start with kai li, age 17 from long island, new york. he was detained in 2016, sentenced to 10 years in 2018 on espionage charges, which his family denies. his son testified before the congressional committee and told them his father had a stroke, that he was locked up for 24 hours a day in a cell and not allowed out due to the covid pandemic restriction. mark swidan, texas businessman in his 40s, had been detained since 2012 and was sentenced to death with a reprieve in 2019 after being convicted on drug- related charges. a u.n. working group determined there was no evidential basis. those two men, kai li and mark swidan, according to u.s. officials were wrongfully detained. and john leung, a man in his 70s. he had permanent residency in hong kong and was sentenced to life for espionage in eastern china.

after 12 years of what the state department calls wrongful detention in china, texas businessman mark swidanfinally returning home. he was on death row in china on what his congressional supporters say were bogus charges. swidan suffered brutal abuse and neglect, according to john kamm, a human rights group leader who advocated for swidan's release. >> he is really a shadow of his former self. >> reporter: he's been mistreated, malnourished, and physically damaged. >> absolutely. he has been shackled. hand in foot. he has suffered a great deal. >> reporter: two months ago, swidan's mother told congress her son's absence has left a gaping hole in our hearts. also released by china, american john leung, accused of espionage and held since 2021, and kai li, accused of espionage. li's son has pressed for his father's release. >> it's been so long that the absence of my dad, it just feels like a permanent void. >> reporter: no announcement of what america gave china in return or any statement from china about why it agreed. >> i think they want to say a fond farewell to president biden. it's a me

their names are kai li, john leung, and mark swidan. — the longest of the three. a businessman from texas, he was facing the death penalty for a narcotics conviction. 0n the other side, the new york times reports the us released a chinese national who was facing 20 years after being convicted of espionage. the prisoner swap was the result of years of diplomacy. most recently, president biden raised the issue of americans detained in china directly with president xijinping at the apec summit in peru. john kamm who is the executive director of the dui hui foundation, a human rights group that pushes for the release of those detained in china. he says the timing of the release is important. but it's also a message to donald trump. and the message is that, ok, if you play your cards right, we can make some compromise, make some concessions in an area where we can do so. china is holding thousands of political prisoners of course, notjust americans, but many. and, you know, i hope that this is the start of many more releases and not just of

the american held the longest, mark swidan from houston, was arrested in beijing on a business trip in november of 2012. chinese police charging him with drug possession, but providing no evidence. sentencing him to death in 2019. his mother releasing an emotional video during his incarceration. >> i just can't fathom what mark is going through. i know he's suffering. >> reporter: kai li, a long island, new york, businessman has been held since 2016 on espionage charges. his son harrison pleading for help to win his father's release during a congressional hearing in september. >> personally, i have now spent a third of my life missing my dad. >> reporter: and john leung, held since 2021, charged with espionage, as well. the 79-year-old, sentenced to life imprisonment. he had been an fbi informant, according to "the new york times." the biden administration had been in highly secret negotiations for months, including a private meeting between president biden and chinese president xi jinping in exchange for the americans, three chinese prison nerps held in u.s. jails were released, inclu

after 12 years of what the state department calls wrongful detention in china, texas businessman mark swidan on death row in china in what his congressional supporters say were bogus charges. swidan suffered brutal abuse and neglect according to john cam, a human rights leader who advocated for swidan's release. >> he is really a shadow of his former set. >> he has been mistreated, malnourished and physically damaged? >> absolutely. he has been shackled hand and foot. he is he has suffered a great deal. >> reporter: two months ago, swidan's mother told congress her son's absence has left a gaping hole in our hearts. also released by china, american john leung accused of espionage and held since 2021, and kai li, accused of espionage. li's son has pressed for his father's release. >> it's been so long that the absence of my dad, it just feels like a permanent void. >> reporter: no announcement of what america gave china in return, or any statement from china about why it agreed. >> i think they want to say a fond farewell to president biden. it's a message to mr. donald trump. that's very imp

mark swidan, kai li, john leung were released as part of a prisoner swap in exchange for releasing an who served a 20 year sentence. >>> if you are skipping cooking this year, restaurants will be open. among them, claire is junction in santa clara . it is repurposed from an old carl's jr. and it's part of a growing trend in construction meant to save money and the environment. >> reporter: the kitchen is still grilling burgers. that is a hint of what a hit new restaurant was in santa clara before, a run-of-the-mill 1980s carl's jr. >> we always thought it would be fun if we could take what was before a hamburger restaurant and elevate it to make it something more while also making it a community space. >> reporter: rock gomez works for a developer who took over the rundown burger joined on tasman that drive and it turned it into clara's junction. several new high-rise buildings. they built a lesson in adaptive reuse and creativity. the old parking lot became an outdoor patio. the fast food drive-through lane is a corn hole gaming area. walls were knocked down to create a walk-up bar a

we have a statement here at the white house, they say we are pleased to announce the release of mark swidanai li from detention from the people's republic of china, they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years, speaking to this administration's effort and diplomacy cut all the wrongfully detained americans in the peer see her home. mr. kai li has been in jail since 2016 accused of violating security laws, mr. 60! accused of being a u.s. spy and naydamac looking at a death sentence, describing them as dubious drug charges. we do not know anything about why this is happening right now but we know the incoming president is putting pressure on china and the current president said he raised these cases for years. >> president biden: i always raze it with the united states has concerns about the piercy's actions including detaining u.s. citizens, human rights and course of activities in the south china sea. >> we have asked but have not been given answers as to which chinese citizen or citizens u.s. has sent back to china as part of this exchange. >> gilli

now, they are, according to the white house national security council, mark swidan and others, been detapedle's republic of china. two of the three had been designated as wrongfully detained by the u.s. state department. he was detained in 2012 on drug-related charges and he has spent more than a decade being detained in china. li has been detained since 2016, serving a ten-year prison sentence. leung detained in 2021 and sentenced in 2023 for life in prison on spying charges. again, this is the biden administration announcing this just a short time ago. the white house has repeatedly said that president biden has helped bring home over 70 americans unjustly detained. really around the world. and certainly we've heard about several of these stories over the course of his a administration. we can also tell you that national security advisor jake sullivan, he had also urged the return of americans were wrongfully detained in china during his visit to the country at the end of august. again, that breaking news, three americans who were detained in china have been released. we are still waiting

mark swidan kai li and john liang coming home in exchange for unnamed chinese nationals. so not a lot of details on that part of the prisoner exchange, but crucially, especially in the case of sweden and kai li, who have been wrongfully detained in china for for a decade or more it is the culmination of the work to bring them home and that's what we saw here. we have seen the biden administration make this an effort to bring home wrongfully detained prisoners from other countries, as well. evan gershkovich, paul whelan, brittney griner these are never easy, but there is always the work there behind the scenes, and this is where it pays off. we have seen statements of thanks first from critics of the biden administration, senator ted cruz very much praised the biden administration for the work done here. congressman mike mccaul doing the same. and then, of course, the families very happy that these three are home before the holidays. >> yeah, a significant deal there. oren liebermann, great to see you in person. thanks for joining us stay with us again on news central. we'

mark swidan, kai li and john leung. swidan from houston.ording to senator chuck schumer. this came together the last couple of months according to u.s. officials. the white house saying that president biden had brought this up to chinese president xi at the apec summit earlier this month. and again we're told that those three americans have been released according to a senior u.s. official. they are safely in u.s. custody and on planes back here home to the u.s., andrea. >> gabe gutierrez, thank you so much. >>> and breaking news also. we learned from donald trump's trump transition that cabinet nominees and administration nominees have been targeted, ranging from bomb threats to swatting attacks. one of them involved trump's pick for the u.n. ambassador, elise stefanik, released a statement saying she, her husband and 3-year-old son were driving home to saratoga in new york from washington for thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence. we should note that three senior law enforcement officials tell nbc news t