concern at the administration though defending the deal as the best that they can get. this was not a choice of which american to bring home. the choice was one or none. well, a bunch more on the entire story tonight, bringing to you only as cnn can, cnn s phil mattingly is at the white house with the exclusive details from inside the oval office on how this all came together. kylie atwood is at the state department with new reporting as well on what happens next from griner, jennifer hensler, with more on the cnn exclusive interview she got today with paul whelan in prison. and from london, nick paton walsh, who sat down with victor bout for the very last interview he ever did with the western reporter. we want to start with phil mattingly. what are you reporting, phil? you know anderson, there were months of fits and starts, arduous negotiations, where this really crystallized over the course of the last 72 hours. just a few days ago, brittney griner was removed from a penal
again, the senate democrats and also the white house not expecting a ton of change in the media future. the white house saying today they see her as a key partner moving forward and, remember, senator sinema has been at the center of a lot of bipartisan legislation in the last couple of years including the infrastructure bill, chips, the marriage equality legislation that just passed, the guns bills over the summer. she s been in the center of all of that and we expect to see more of that from her. what this likely does do, though, is opens up a lot of questions about 2024 and that arizona senate race, how does that shape up? we ll just have to see. casey? we will. it s been quite an evolution since she arrived in the house of representatives. thanks very much for that report. much more of our cnn exclusive interview now with senator kyrsten sinema, including how she came to this decision, whether she thinks democrats are being pulled too far to the fringes and if she has any plans
she s on her way home. for months being unjustly detained in russia held under intolerable circumstances, brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along. plus, quote, i don t understand why i m still sitting here. the prisoner the biden administration could not bring home, paul whelan, says he feels let down and urges the president to pay any price to bring him home. that in a new cnn exclusive interview from his russian jail cell. today a bill to protect same-sex marriage heads to the president s desk. it is likely the last big act of nancy pelosi s speakership and a reminder democratic priorities face a very different fate when republicans take the house next month. up first, though, a trade on a tarmac in abu dhabi brings an american prisoner home. the wnba star brittney griner is heading for american soil right now. that after the united states and russia agreed on and then executed a swap for the convicted russian arms dealer
quite high. in a brand-new cnn exclusive interview direct from russian captivity, paul whelan says the president needs to bring him home and soon. i have to say i am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release. especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. i was arrested for a crime that never occurred. i m happy that brittney is going home today and that trevor went home when he did, but i don t understand why i m still sitting here. my bags were packed. i m ready to go home. i just need an airplane to come and get me. cnn is covering these dramatic developments from across the globe including in just a few moments more from that cnn exclusive interview with paul whelan, but let s start at the white house and our senior correspondent mj lee. take us inside this dramatic moment. reporter: well, john, there are two things going on at the white house today. one, of course, is the real
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