Eli Lake, Columnist

How a Former Marine Became a Pawn in the New Cold War

The Trump administration may have to decide whether to free convicted Russians to rescue Paul Whelan.

June 16, 2020 at 9:30 PM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Sentenced to 16 years.
Photographer: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images

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According to Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, Paul Whelan is an American spy. This week Lavrov said the 50-year-old former Marine was caught “red-handed” when he was arrested on Dec. 28, 2018, in possession of a flash drive containing Russian state secrets. On Monday, Whelan was sentenced in a secret trial to 16 years in prison.

That is the official Russian story. And like many official Russian stories, it strains credulity. The more likely explanation for Whelan’s nightmare is that he was framed, and is now caught up in an unfortunate diplomatic showdown. His fate depends on how well the Trump administration navigates its relationship with an adversary the president has tried to cajole.