McCarthy calls on Russia to release of WSJ reporter, suggests Biden's prisoner swap emboldened Putin
EXCLUSIVE: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that was detained in the red nation.
At a Thursday event for his Protect the House 2024 joint fundraising committee at the Capitol Hill Club, McCarthy demanded Putin release WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovitch, a U.S. citizen who was arrested in Russia and is being held on the suspicion of espionage.
"Russia needs to release this journalist," McCarthy told Fox News Digital. "It just shows what Putin is doing."
"And it also shows when the president pays ransom, they’ll go after and take more Americans," McCarthy continued.
WALL STREET JOURNAL DEFENDS REPORTER AFTER HE’S ARRESTED BY RUSSIA ON SUSPICION OF ESPIONAGE
At a Thursday event for his Protect the House 2024 joint fundraising committee at the Capitol Hill Club, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., demanded Putin release WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovitch, a U.S. citizen who was arrested in Russia and is being held on the suspicion of espionage. (C-SPAN screenshot)
"Americans need to make sure they’re not in Russia, but more importantly, this is a journalist who has a right to do their job," the speaker said. "And for Putin to try anything else, it shows how deadly he is."
McCarthy added that what Putin "is doing is against every realm of the rule of law."
The speaker’s call for Gershkovitch’s release comes after the U.S. journalist was arrested in Russia on allegations of spying on behalf of the American government.
The WSJ forcefully defended its reporter after he was arrested in Russia on allegations of espionage.
The Russian government's Federal Security Service said it had detained Gershkovitch in the city of Yekaterinburg and accused him of spying on behalf of the U.S. government.
The Russian government's Federal Security Service said it had detained Gershkovitch in the city of Yekaterinburg and accused him of spying on behalf of the U.S. government. (Wall Street Journal/Screenshot)
Gershkovich is "suspected of spying in the interests of the US government," the FSB said in a statement reported by state news agency RIA Novosti. The FSB added his "illegal activities" "have been suppressed."
The Russian government agency claimed it arrested the journalist while he was "trying to obtain secret information," "on the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex."
The FSB Investigation Department opened a criminal case under the article for espionage, RIA Novosti reported.
The paper defended their reporter and denied Russia's allegations in a statement.
"The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family," The WSJ's senior communications manager Caitlyn Reuss wrote.
McCarthy said that what Putin "is doing is against every realm of the rule of law." ((Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP))
The Journal said Gershkovich reported on Russia as part of the paper's Moscow bureau. He is accredited to work as a journalist in Russia by the country’s foreign ministry, the FSB also said.
Gershkovich was previously a reporter for Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times and a news assistant at the New York Times, his WSJ bio says.
Reporters face up to 15 years in prison if they report what authorities deem as false reports about the military, according to a new Russian law. The legislation was passed by both chambers of the Russian parliament.
Some outlets like BBC News have suspended reporting from within the country due to the law, citing safety concerns.