Relatives of Americans held in China angry over Griner swap too

National security adviser Jake Sullivan told China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in June that releasing Americans wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China is a “personal priority for both himself and for the president,” a senior administration official told reporters in a post-meeting briefing.

Now the families are accusing the administration of abandoning that promise and failing to apply the same level of resources and resolve that helped free Griner to address the plight of their jailed relatives.

The Biden administration launched a high-profile international campaign to free Griner following her arrest in February that included enlisting foreign governments such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to lobby for her release. The White House also personalized Griner’s plight during her 10-month confinement by making repeated public calls for her freedom and presenting Moscow a prisoner swap proposal five months after her arrest. That paved the way for Moscow to trade notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner on Thursday.