Paul Whelan.

[Hangfire]

I was sent these articles and thought I'd pass them along......I'm by no means suggesting that Paul Whelan should be left behind in Russia but he was drummed out of the Marines, held multiple passports from different countries and was not what you'd really call a model U.S. citizen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Whelan_(security_director)
https://www.reuters.com/world/paul-whelan-ex-us-marine-jailed-russia-spying-charges-2022-12-08/

 

[Aku]

Have seen some of this. Whether he should have been traded I can't really respond to. But trading Griner was a mistake. She should serve her full sentence.

 

[swampratt]

My buddy here got 10 years for 1 pot seed that was found in his residence.
He was on probation for weed.

That pot seed was from his other buddy that went in his house and rolled one.
Just so happened probation officer showed up that day and my buddy was outside working on his truck but house was searched.

You obey the law and do not hang around thugs that will get you in trouble.
Pretty simple.

Crappy hands are dealt all the time.

 

[retrieverman]

Whelan may not be a saint, but he’s still not a pot head America hating transvestite.

 

[Okie4570]

I've seen some Russian news casts, they're having a good laugh at our expense. "The voters have chosen it seems, take the black lesbian athlete over the soldier who signed up to protect his motherland"...........

 

[NationalMatch]

I've seen some Russian news casts, they're having a good laugh at our expense.

It's as predictable as sunrise and sunset. Whenever we have a liberal in the White Shack, America becomes a running joke.

 

[Chuckie]

Have seen some of this. Whether he should have been traded I can't really respond to. But trading Griner was a mistake. She should serve her full sentence.

I agree that she should have been left to serve her prison term. The only thing that I felt was an injustice was the length of her sentence which seemed a bit harsh for what was actually a pretty small offense, that was probably politically motivated.

 

[Chuckie]

Whelan may not be a saint, but he’s still not a pot head America hating transvestite.

No, he was a Marine that stole from his fellow Marines on several occasions, got a BCD, then worked as a sketchy law enforcement officer (sheriff dept won't even acknowledge he was a deputy), then was busted as a spy by Russian authorities. I see the things that Whelan did as being way more offensive to me than someones personal choice in lifestyle, or even that they don't like our government. Heck, a LOT of people don't like our government , and thankfully, our Constitution allows for that.

 

[hunter966]

The only thing that I felt was an injustice was the length of her sentence which seemed a bit harsh for what was actually a pretty small offense, that was probably politically motivated.

I respectfully have to disagree with your statement here. It’s Russia, their country their rules, so if they say it’s worth the 9 years or whatever cousin it got then so be it. It went there to earn their money so it should've known their rules.

If it was the USA, well crap, look at what we’ve let people get off the hook here with.

 

[Glocktogo]

I was sent these articles and thought I'd pass them along......I'm by no means suggesting that Paul Whelan should be left behind in Russia but he was drummed out of the Marines, held multiple passports from different countries and was not what you'd really call a model U.S. citizen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Whelan_(security_director)
https://www.reuters.com/world/paul-whelan-ex-us-marine-jailed-russia-spying-charges-2022-12-08/

No, he was a Marine that stole from his fellow Marines on several occasions, got a BCD, then worked as a sketchy law enforcement officer (sheriff dept won't even acknowledge he was a deputy), then was busted as a spy by Russian authorities. I see the things that Whelan did as being way more offensive to me than someones personal choice in lifestyle, or even that they don't like our government. Heck, a LOT of people don't like our government , and thankfully, our Constitution allows for that.

I’m not saying either of you are wrong, but if you look at the complete picture on Whelan, there are a LOT of things that just don’t add up.

The Whelan background is weird. I did a bit (not a lot) of research. He’s from Canada and holds citizenship in Canada, the US, UK and Ireland. He’s well travelled both professionally and personally. He was apparently LE at several US agencies not just the one that showed no record), joined the Marine reserves in 1994, then IT manager for Kelly Services (temp agency which includes Kelly Government Services). He took leave from Kelly 2003-2008 to do his Marine thing full time?

While on deployment in Iraq, he was an E-6 “admin clerk” in the 3rd Marine Air Wing, when he was charged and convicted for attempted theft of $10k from the government (doesn’t specify cash or property), check kiting, using someone else’s SSN, dereliction of duty, false statement, etc. For that he was busted to E-4, given 60 days restriction and a Big Chicken Dinner. That seems light considering the charges, no?

Here’s the weird part. AFTER he was given the BCD, he becomes “Senior Manager of Global Security Operations” for Kelly Services, then ultimately the “Director of Global Security and Investigations” for BorgWarner (which also has DoD contracts) when he was nabbed in Russia.

Does anyone else find it strange how a beat cop turned IT manager turned enlisted reservist “admin clerk”, became the head of security for two .gov connected global corporations AFTER getting a BCD?

Again, I’m not saying he’s not a shitbird, but I tend to see why Russia might suspect him of being a spy?