It remains to be seen what - if anything - will come of President Biden's conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin about two detained Americans, both former Marines and one of whom served at Fort Hood near Killeen.
Biden briefly mentioned Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan during a June 16 press conference at the Hôtel du Parc des Eaux-Vives in Geneva, Switzerland following a three-hour-long summit with Putin earlier that day.
Texas U.S. Congressman August Pfluger
| pfluger.house.gov/
"And I raised the case of two wrongfully imprisoned American citizens: Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed," Biden told reporters. "I also raised the ability of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty to operate, and the importance of a free press and freedom of speech. I made it clear that we will not tolerate attempts to violate our democratic sovereignty or destabilize our democratic elections, and we would respond. The bottom line is, I told President Putin that we need to have some basic rules of the road that we can all abide by," Biden said in a White House press release.
Later in the press conference, Biden added that "the families of the detained Americans came up and we discussed it. We’re going to follow through with that discussion. I am — I am not going to walk away on that issue."
There has since been no public mention from the White House about Reed or Whalen.
Biden's comments came the day after U.S. 11th District Congressman August Pfluger announced in a Twitter post that he and almost 50 cosigners "sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to" Biden, "urging him to address the arrest and detention of our constituents Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan, two U.S. Marine Veterans who are being held as political pawns by the Putin Regime."
Pfluger's Twitter post came the day after Reed's parents urged Biden and Putin to find a way to get their son home, CBSDFW reported.
Reed was in Moscow to take Russian language classes and visit his girlfriend, who lives in the city, when he was arrested in August of 2019 following an office party where "he became severely intoxicated or drugged," the GoFundMe page set up to support Reed says.
"Later, the police were called and they took him to the police station instead of a medical facility which is the norm for intoxicated Russian citizens," the GoFundMe page says. "We believe this was because he was American and they knew he had money."
Police subsequently demanded a bribe and Reed "was interrogated by the FSB about his military service," the GoFundMe page says. "Soon after they left, he was charged with a Level II crime of intentionally endangering the lives of the police officers who brought him to the jail. Trevor’s bail was denied based on a false charge of improper registration. This was appealed to the Supreme Court of Russia and determined to be a reason to deny bail. He still wasn’t released."
At this reporting, Reed's GoFundMe effort remains almost $31,500 short of its $75,000 goal.
Last summer, Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison by Moscow's Golovinsky district court over allegations he endangered the "life and health" of Russian police officers, allegations he and his family deny, according to CNN.
U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation John J. Sullivan attended Reed's appeal.
Reed's name came up a White House press briefing the same day as his failed appeal, when Press Secretary Jen Psaki, echoing Sullivan, referred to Reed's case as "a mockery of justice" and called on "Russia to swiftly release both Mr. Reed and Paul Whelan."
Earlier this month, the U.S. Embassy reported that Reed was hospitalized for two weeks with COVID-19 in Russia "without U.S. consular access or contact with his family."
"We've had no consular access for two weeks and zero updates on his condition despite constant calls and requests," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported, quoting the embassy on June 8.