gotchanewsdaily.com 
CNN
—
The Trump administration secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American teacher detained for more than three years in Russia, in an “exchange,” the White House announced Tuesday.
The deal to release Fogel, who was designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department, was negotiated by President Donald Trump, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, “and the President’s advisers,” according to a statement from national security adviser Mike Waltz.
The statement did not provide any details about the “exchange,” other than to say it was “a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.” The National Security Council declined to offer further details.
In an extraordinary move, Witkoff personally went to Russia to bring back Fogel, the statement indicated. There has been no known high-level US travel to Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
“By tonight, Marc Fogel will be on American soil and reunited with his family and loved ones thanks to President Trump’s leadership,” Waltz’s statement said.
Fogel worked for nearly a decade as a history teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, where children of US diplomats were among his students.
He was arrested in August 2021 at an airport in Moscow after he was found carrying cannabis. He had traveled into the country with about 17 grams of cannabis, which his family and lawyer said was recommended by a doctor to treat “severe spinal pain.”
In June 2022, he was found guilty in a court just outside Moscow of committing “large-scale drugs smuggling” and given a 14-year sentence at a Russian hard labor camp. The same court held the trial of detained WNBA player Brittney Griner, who was released in a prisoner swap in December 2022.
Fogel was not included in multiple prisoner swaps under the Biden administration, including one in August that saw the release of journalist Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.
Fogel’s family had expressed deep concerns about his health, telling CNN in July 2022 that his prison sentence amounted to “a death sentence for him.”
The US government had asked Russia to release Fogel on humanitarian grounds, due to his age and chronic back pain.
Sen. Steve Daines penned a letter to then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2023 urging the State Department to immediately designate Fogel “wrongfully detained,” which did not ultimately happen until December 2024.
On Tuesday, Daines praised Trump for securing Fogel’s release.
“This is a major victory for President Trump, the United States and most importantly, Marc Fogel and his family. No American should have to endure this injustice, and I am relieved Marc is on his way home to the country he loves,” the Montana Republican posted on X.
While Fogel is from Pennsylvania, he has family who live in Montana, including his sister Anne Fogel. She told CNN in December that her family was pleased by the government’s decision to formally designate her brother as wrongfully detained.
“We’ve been assured that he is prioritized, which is what we have been fighting for three-and-a-half years,” Anne Fogel told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “OutFront.” “We do believe that there is a plan.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
