EXCLUSIVE: The Federal Judge who sentenced Viktor Bout weighs in on his notorious reputation
[This Substack was published originally on May 20. I am republishing it in wake of the news about the swap of Brittney Griner/Viktor Bout. It is wonderful news for Griner’s wife, family, friends and her many supporters. The swap is unquestionably unbalanced. Griner was arrested for something that was legal in the U.S. but the Russians wanted, and got, a high profile pawn to use in prisoner negotiations. Viktor Bout was a major arms trader in the past but many readers might be surprised to learn that the federal judge who sentenced Bout to 25 years in prison has a suprising view about his “merchant of death’ infamy]
Several hundred of you sent me emails and DMs yesterday after Forbes published my article that confirmed the U.S. and Russia were in talks that could bring WNBA star Brittney Griner home in return for sending arms trafficker Victor Bout back to Russia. A surprising number of people wanted to know about Victor Bout. On the internet they had found sensational accounts of Bou…
