a gentleman named roger carstens runs it. i interviewed him a couple of weeks ago. the day before evan gershkovich was put back on trial where he was convicted and sentenced to serve in prison in russia, about two weeks ago, but roger carstens and his office along with a number of ngos and other members of the u.s. government, they are directly involved in these sorts of negotiations. so, they will travel, they will be engaged with the families, they will talk to the people who are being held, roger explained to me that he would speak to evan and to paul whelan and to others who are being wrongfully detained in countries all over the world on a relatively regular basis and they are engaged in this constant back and forth negotiating with governments. they also negotiated with terror groups, trying -- i've spoken with terror groups, trying to get americans who have been released out of various detention situations. so, they would have been directly most likely directly involved in this. we're waiting for more details on that. but this is really just the beginning for

roger carstens. thank you for what you think logic. appreciate it and coming up in the next hour, we're going to talk to also kurmasheva, the russian american journalist who was released in last week's prisoner swap after more than a year in a row russian prison. again, that interview is coming up today in the 5:00 p.m. hour, coming up next, the brand new scene, an investigation after months of fighting hamas in gaza, how much progress has israel made and actually eliminating the existence of these periods were going to dig into a possible resurgence of hamas that's ahead we just want to have enough money for retirement and traveled to visit our grandchildren. i understand. that's what fisher investments we start by getting to know each other. so i can learn about your family lifestyle, goals and needs allowing us to tailor your portfolio. >> what about commission-based products? >> we don't sell. those were a fiduciary obligated to act in your best interests. >> so how do you management tastes work? >> we have a transparent fee struct

kim mentioned roger carstens, he played a very big role in this over the years, but the intelligence community and particularly the cia, also played a critical role that the main channel i'm told wasn't intelligence channel between the cia and their intelligence counterparts. they held countless calls and meetings in third countries over the, the months and years. as this deal evolved and it really did evolve over time. and i was given a bit of a timeline from a us official who said that back in january of 2023. so a year-and-a-half ago? the cia actually put forward a proposal to get paul whelan out. this was before evan gershkovich was arrested to get paul whelan out in exchange for two russian spies who were picked up in slovenia. the russian said no. and then ten months later in november, after evan gershkovich had been picked up and arrested the u.s. the cia again put forward a proposal saying, how about we get back the two americans for for russian spies in this time it was additional spies in poland and in norway. and at that point in november, the russians made it clear, no, w

the real hero in this story is investor roger carstens, l that process?travelled to all these different countries, involved all these different people and found a way to thread the needle on this whole thing. one of the things i'm trying to encourage the uk government to do right now is to set up their office of special envoy for hostage affairs so that if you are british and you've got a blue passport, you are not left to rot in a foreign prison. a british passport was very lucky that the us took him under their wing even though he's not a us citizen and they got him out because britain has a policy ofjust not negotiating on hostages. it is a aood negotiating on hostages. it is a good point- _ negotiating on hostages. it is a good point. it's— negotiating on hostages. it is a good point. it's good _ negotiating on hostages. it is a good point. it's good to - negotiating on hostages. it is a good point. it's good to talk i negotiating on hostages. it is a| good point. it's good to talk to. thank you for coming on the programme and my apologies, i've repor

roger carstens, the hostage negotiator the white house, and the national security council. but really quite in the middle doing the shuttle negotiating and discussions was the cia. if we go back a year-and-a-half in this timeline after brittney griner was released, the u.s. was continuing efforts to try to get paul whelan out in a month later in january of last year i'm told that the cia met with the russians in an unspecified third country and offered a new deal dl2. russian spies from slovenia for paul whelan, that offer was rejected by the russians repeatedly, including after burns continued to push it and then in march, evan gershkovich was also detained and a couple of months later, the u.s. went forward with a new deal. the cia took it to the russians in moscow saying, we can now offer for of your spies from slovenia, from norway, from poland, in exchange for both paul whelan and evan gershkovich, that too was rejected. pam and the russians made clear that they would not do any deal without that fsb assassin, vadim krasikov, that set off months of discussions trying t

and roger carstens, the hostage negotiator at the state department, has actually pointed out that ins analysis, it is not quite as clear cut that the evidence actually demonstrates the kind of result that your question speaks to -- that, you know, a lot more people get taken because we do these exchanges. but it's something that we have to pay attention to. and it's something that makes these decisions by the president not simple decisions -- hard decisions. and yet, as he did today, he was prepared to make them. reporter: can you explain a bit more, when did it become clear that krasikov was this linchpin to a deal like this? and was it during the negotiations over brittney griner? mr. sullivan: when you're engaged in a negotiation and one side lays down a position, there's not like a light bulb moment when you say, “okay, that position is immovable.” that has to be tested and alternatives have to be suggested, and proposals get put on the table and rejected, and new proposals and rejected. so, it is less of a “aha” moment -- “okay, now we know” -- and it's more something that you a

i personally can say it's very difficult to go through but you have roger carstens working on this and there's nobody in the world that i would rather have working these issues my advice to the families specifically is it is critical that your family member is designated as a wrongful detainee under the levinson act and allows the u.s. government so much, so many more options for their release all right. >> matthew heath thank you for an outfront exclusive. john hinckley, junior, the man who tried to assassinate former president ronald reagan speaks out against political violence is first interview since trump's shooting is next plus the judge and trump's election interference case is back in control and ready to jump-start proceedings could trump be back heading back into a courtroom. we're going to talk it's about that up next. so stay with us why do couples choose asleep number smart bad? can it keep me warm when i'm cold wait, no, i'm always hot. sleep never does that can i make my side softer? i like my side? farmers number does that help us sleep better and better sleep never doe

i personally can say it's very difficult to go through, but you have roger carstens working on this and there's nobody in the world that i would rather have working these issues. my advice to the families specifically is it is critical that your family member is designated as a wrongful detainee under the levinson act and allows the u.s. government so much, so many more options for their release alright. >> matthew heath. thank you for your next an outfront exclusive, john hinckley, junior, the man who tried to assassinate former president ronald reagan, speak it's out against political violence. his first interview since trump's shooting is next plus the judge in trump's election interference case is back in control and ready to jump start proceedings could trump be back heading back into a courtroom. we're going to talk about that up next. so stay with us dash was a very physical sport i get a lot of marks throughout the season his sign a lot of the war you got to push yourself to the limit march in your body is not the sign of failure step towards improvement movement, lives marks yo

jake sullivan, of course he the white house, the president intimately involved with this process roger carstens, the hostages goes here at the state department, would have laid out the basic framework, the landscape of the deal. but i'm told that the middlemen, essentially the people doing the shuttle negotiating that was the the cia director and bill burns. and if we look back on this timeline, about 18 months after brittney griner was exchanged for the merchant of death, death victor boot, the u.s. got back to work trying to get paul whelan out and i'm told that right after that the cia offered russia a two for one deal to russian spy as in slovenia, for paul whelan, they rejected that a couple of months later, evan gershkovich was detained the cia then went back to the russians in moscow and offered a four for to deal for russian spies in different european countries, for paul whelan and evan gershkovich, they rejected that as well, making clear that they were not going to accept a deal without that assassin vadym cross it's a cough in germany and that was a really complicating factor becaus

roger carstens at the state department, who has been the hostage negotiator.you'll get a general picture of it from the president and then you'll see white house officials beginning to give background of each and every one of the phone calls the president's made many of them right around the time i'm that he was making the decision to pull out of the race extremely significant. >> and we understand david, he also made the personal calls to the hostage families. i know once i've spoken to you, found out yesterday that this was in the works and he was making those calls as we understand from kayla's reporting. thank you. david sanger, let's bring it jim sciutto, again. jim bill burns outsmart court's been reporting on the role of the cia. bill burns, as cia director just a moment to consider his central role in this is central role in the ceasefire negotiations, which of course thus far have not come to fruition. but yet in the middle of that constantly on the road only in. terms of his role here in these moments. an incredibly consequential role for the u.s. ci

to the white house and then a year later with this meeting that i was privileged to have with roger carstens, i was able to explain to him the importance for the kremlin of this particular criminal who is serving a life sentence in germany. >> so let me ask you, let me just jump in because that was the top name on the cocktail napkin. write you write down vadim krasikov, this russian assassin that you're talking about, serving a life sentence for murder carried out other assassinations. we saw him tonight christo getting off the plane in moscow. there he is greeting vladimir putin, getting a hug now, why was this one man? this one man here. we're watching this meeting between him and putin. so important to putin it was his personal assassin that's the nutshell version of the story we identified at least three prior set nations that this person had conducted within russia and all of the assassination said political motive. >> it was clearly something get done on behalf of the kremlin. and we have evidenced reason to believe that this relationship with putin goes back to long before even he be

i think there are real questions and roger carstens hostage negotiation rats at the state department has actually pointed out that in this analysis it is not quite as clear cut that evidence actually demonstrates the kind of result your question speaks to. a lot more people get taken because we do these exchanges. but it is something we have to pay attention to and it is something that makes these decisions by the president not simple decisions. hard decisions. and yet, as he did today, he was prepared to make them. >> can you explain a bit more wanted it become clear that president cobb was ideal especially with differently from brittney griner question mike >> it's not l like a light bulb moment, it has to be tested and alternatives have to be suggested. proposals get put on the table and rejected and new proposals are rejected so it's less of a moment of now we know and more of something the you negotiate through the experience over the course of this we did reach the conclusion that krasikov was a key. >> can you talk us through any involvement with the vice president? was she al

i'm talking specifically about our staff at embassy moscow, our staff in consular affairs, roger carstensnd his tireless team in the special envoy for hostage affairs office, our team in the europe regional bureau and all the other regional bureaus and embassies who have made days like this possible. today, we celebrate that paul evan, alsu, vladimir, and others are free and recommit our -- and we commit our efforts to secure the release of americans who remain wrongfully detained or held hostage. so with that, daphne, if you want to kick us off. >> thank you so much. could you detail a little bit more of lincoln's involvement in this deal? sort of what conversations he's had? and where did this idea of widening the deal to include more people to be released and get germany involved come from? we've heard this idea was being kicked around the state. was it blinken's idea, or where did it come from? >> so, look, i'm not going to get into the specifics of the negotiating process beyond just saying that today's exchange is a feat of diplomacy that could have only been achieved with leaders l

. >> reporter: a post now held by roger carstens. >> if your loved one is taken by a terrorist group or a nation state, there's a place to call now. >> reporter: he says the government likely wouldn't prosecute families who pay ransoms. >> to my mind, i cannot ever see that happening. >> reporter: but the u.s. is still barred from giving concessions to terrorist groups. >> if it's a nation state that takes an american, we have a little more leeway to do something. >> what do you say to people who say, when you negotiate with hostage takers, when you make these deals, it incentivizes further hostage taking? >> you know, the numbers don't back that up. >> reporter: the foley foundation puts the latest number of u.s. nationals held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad at 42, its lowest figure since 2015. by its own count since then, its advocacy has helped secure the release of more than 120 u.s. nationals, including jose pereira, who was imprisoned in venezuela for nearly five years. >> they are advocating and doing hard work for all the hostages that are still left behind. >> reporte

evidence to suggest that based on an analysis that he says was carried out by ambassador there, roger carstens, who is the u.s. special envoy for hostage affairs, who does all of this negotiating around the world. so when asked how they can prevent this kind of thing from taking place in the future for americans getting picked up in the future and then eventually having to be traded, they answered this is why americans need to find hello, are suggestions and right now of course, the biggest suggestion for russia is simply don't go there. that is something that is, that it's told to american civilians, to american business people, and to us as journalists as well. it's really drilled into us that you are in danger interests territory if you are in russia, i believe i heard our steve hall say that earlier today that it is a terrible idea. they go there so that you don't end up in a situation like this yeah. >> and alex talk a little bit about the domestic politics at play. i mean, that's, that's the truth in russia as well, is in the u.s. and they're kind of interact ding in a way you've heard f

secretary blinken and president biden, national security adviser jake sullivan, presidential envoy roger carstensnew that from the get go. they really championed his cause. and we're incredibly grateful. and so happy that many others came out with evan. and families were reunited. so, we just have hearts full of gratitude. the fact that they charged him with anything was absurd. and i think you saw it play out over 16 months. how? yeah. and ridiculous as charges were. leslie. paul, i just want to ask you something i had heard, and that is apparently evan had to fill out some kind of form, some russian legal form, as he was leaving. and at the bottom, he asked if he could interview putin. yes. ever the reporter. so it's funny, when he came back last night when he was on the tarmac, you know, one of the people who went back to russia was a kgb assassin, right? germany freed up to make this happen. and when evan came out yesterday, he walked up to one of our colleagues and said, you know, i was hoping i'd be able to interview krasikov, but the, you know, timing on the planes wasn't right. so he's be

secretary blinken and president biden, national security advisor jake sullivan, presidential envoy roger carstensnew that from the get go. they really championed his cause and were incredibly grateful. and so happy that many others came out with evan and families were reunited. so we just have hearts full of gratitude. the fact that they charged them with anything was absurd, and i think you saw it play out over 16 months. how false and ridiculous those charges were. paul confirmed to us that evan's last action in russia before leaving the safety of america was to ask to interview vladimir putin. and then, during the prisoner swap, wanted to interview the prisoner released by germany as they traded planes in turkey. but the timing wasn't right. now, if someone could interview putin, one of the top questions would be if he considered the american political situation. we are close to the election. donald trump had promised putin would release the prisoners for him and nobody else. and while the most important thing is that the prisoners are free, there are political ramifications to this president.

and so biden and sullivan and the cia director bill burns and roger carstens, all trying to push germany on the cross. a foot cough question. while trying to assemble this cast of other russians, they could exchange in the end, we're told the white house confirmed today that scholtz, the chancellor of germany, told biden for you, i will do this. so when we see sullivan and crying, i don't think it's just because of the emotion of the day and these americans coming home and that he's so close to this, but it's also because they'd been working so incredibly hard for so long to get to hear. >> it struck me though, julia, that when we saw sullivan and human he was asked about where this idea of making this a large-scale swap originate. he wouldn't give a direct response. he wouldn't give the united states credit for making this such a large deal. do you think it originated with russia well, we know that russia wanted krasikov to alex's point. >> he's a uniformed fsb officer the others were either assets are kind of working for the russian government. they were not as important to putin, who

the line for lack of a better word, back home well the office of pastor fares, they ambassador roger carstenso who has been behind the scenes. he is the one that has been brokering these deals. roger, i guarantee will be on the tarmac in russia wherever picking these two individuals up or whoever's coming noem, and that swap his team will include medical examinations can because they're repatriation process is going to involve hours weeks, maybe months, if not years of counseling. so big parties is trying to bring back that humanity. they want to basically give these folks a chance to get on a phone oh, and talk to their families. but it will be a long, complicated process and it's not just there because it's coming from a prison situation. and now freedom and that transition can be very hard for anyone, much was paul whelan, who's been held for six years in a penal colony dan, thank you very much for that. >> invaluable perspective. and we do have some more reporting here that we are working on. take a quick break as we get back together, we'll bring it to you chasing life with dr. sanjay gu