Cherelle Griner appeared remotely on “CBS Mornings” on Tuesday, telling host Gayle King that she decided to “no longer be silent” about her husband’s plight because the Biden administration has so far been unable to bring her home. “I’m going to find that balance of … harm versus help to push our government to do everything possible because they’re quiet, they’re not moving, they’re not doing anything,” Cherelle Griner argued. Brittney Griner, 31, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for allegedly carrying two cannabis vapor cartridges, which are illegal in Russia, in her luggage. Cherelle Griner (R) told CBS’ Gayle King on Tuesday that she will “not be quiet any longer” about wife Brittney’s case and will push the Biden administration to act.CBS On Friday, her criminal trial began in Khimki city court, where prosecutors laid out their case against the basketball player, accusing her of large-scale drug trafficking, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. On July 4, Griner wrote a letter to Biden from behind bars, telling the president, “I’m afraid I might be here forever.” White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the president had received and read the letter before calling Griner’s release a “priority” for the administration. He did not say whether Biden intended to respond. Griner sent a handwritten letter to President Biden from behind bars, begging him to “not forget her” and revealing that she is “terrified.” Reuters “As you’ve heard us say in the past, he believes that any U.S. citizen who is being held overseas or is being held or held hostage overseas, we need to bring them back safely, and we’re going to use every tool you can to make that happen.” said Jean-Pierre. “Again, this is a priority for the President.” The press secretary added that Cherelle Griner had spoken with national security adviser Jake Sullivan twice in the past ten days. “I don’t have anything else to read in terms of a possible call or meeting with her family, but we clearly believe she was wrongfully detained,” Jean-Pierre said. Cherelle Griner said during the CBS interview that when she read her husband’s dispatch, she could sense her fear. Griner’s drug test began in a suburb of Moscow last Friday. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of large-scale transportation of cannabis. AP “He’s probably the strongest person I know, so he doesn’t say things like that lightly,” she said. “That means she’s really terrified of never seeing us again.” Cherelle speculated that Brittney — the proud daughter of a Vietnam War veteran — decided to address the president directly on Independence Day because her family has so far not reached out to him. “I’m sure he’s saying, ‘I’m going to write him and ask now because my family tried to no avail, so I’m going to do it myself,’” Cherelle said. The athlete’s wife of three years also revealed that in a recent chat with Brittney, she brought up the issue of her mental health after seeing a disturbing photo of her looking wild-eyed as she arrived in court. “I wrote her honestly and said, ‘Hey honey, you know, I saw a picture of you and I know there’s such a thing as propaganda, but I have to ask… are you okay?’ Cherelle remembered to ask. “Are you crazy at this point? Understand that if you are, I love you even when you come back, we will love you whole, show yourself grace.” Sherrell said Britney explained to her that she felt “very weak” at the time and that she was “scared” when she turned a corner in the courthouse and was confronted by hundreds of reporters. But the WNBA player assured her wife she was “not crazy, not yet.” The US government has claimed that Griner’s detention is a political ploy by the Kremlin, a charge that President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected on Friday. “It cannot be politically motivated,” Peskov told the state-run TASS news agency. “[The] The facts are that a famous athlete was caught with prohibited compounds containing narcotic substances. Russian law does have provisions setting out punishment for such crimes.” Meanwhile, Russian media have repeatedly speculated that Griner could be traded for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed “The Dealer of Death,” who is serving a 25-year sentence for conspiracy to murder US citizens and providing assistance to a terrorist organization. Cherelle said she asked her wife about this disturbing photo in court because she feared for Brittney’s sanity. The athlete explained that she was “surprised” by the media.AP At the White House on Tuesday, Jean-Pierre declined to say whether such a deal could be reached with Moscow. “I can’t speak to discussions going on about how US citizens are being held abroad and being held illegally, how and what the process will be,” the spokesman said. “I just can’t talk about it.” Griner’s drug test is scheduled to resume in Russia on Thursday. With Post cables
