wait a minute, spying? that is not the person they know. that's not his character. a bit about paul whelan -- he is canadian, born in canada, but he's an american citizen. actually served in the u.s. marines, served overseas in iraq. then worked in local law enforcement and now works as a consultant for private security for a major auto parts manufacturer here in detroit. he went to russia not for work but was there to be at the wedding of a fellow former marine. and then he gets arrested. so the initial fears the family have have been replaced by new ones that he may be a pawn in a kind of showdown between the united states and russia. >> martin savidge, thank you for that. what is russia saying? let's bring in matthew chance live in moscow for us. matthew? >> reporter: happy new year to