His family tried putting a good face on the swap today, and so does Paul Whelan — to a point. Whelan told CNN in a phone interview a couple of hours ago that he is happy that Brittney Griner will arrive back in the US shortly. However, Whelan also tells CNN that he’d been led to believe that the trade for Viktor “Merchant of Death” Bout would involve him rather than the WNBA star.

“I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here,” Whelan lamented, and professed — understandably — to be “greatly disappointed” in efforts to get him out of Russia:

“I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. I was arrested for a crime that never occurred,” he said in an exclusive phone call from the penal colony where is being held in a remote part of Russia. “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

Whelan said he was happy that Griner was released but told CNN he “was led to believe that things were moving in the right direction, and that the governments were negotiating and that something would happen fairly soon.”

When asked if he was surprised not to have been included in the swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, he told CNN he was.

Whelan believes that the Russians have put his swap value at a premium due to their belief that he was spying for the US. Even if those charges had merit — and Whelan insists they do not — that would put him in the same league as Bout, not Griner. That’s why he expected a deal involving Bout to include him. And contrary to what Joe Biden said this morning, the Russians treat him much differently than other prisoners:

He said he was aware that he was considered in a different category than Griner – “the Russians have always said so.”

“They’ve always considered me to be at a higher level than other criminals of my sort and for whatever reason, I’m treated differently than another individual here from a Western country that’s also on a charge of espionage. So even though we’re both here for espionage, I’m treated much differently than he is, and my treatment is also much different than others held for espionage at other prisons,” Whelan said.

The espionage status should also have pushed the US side to demand more for an exchange of Bout. If Whelan actually was an American intel asset, then they needed to get him out long before now. If he’s not an American intel asset, then the injustice of that trap should also have made him the top US priority for an exchange. Either way, this looks pretty bad for asset recruitment for American intelligence, both domestically and in Russia. If your value in such an arrangement ranks below that of an American sports celebrity, how enthusiastic will you be to put your life on the line?

After four years of watching Whelan twist in the wind only to be passed over for Griner, probably not very enthusiastic.

Speaking of the timing: Many people point out today that Donald Trump had two years to swap for Whelan. That’s certainly true, and no doubt the Whelans haven’t been happy with the result of efforts in the Trump administration as well as the Biden administration.  But the Trump team didn’t bargain away their best trade asset and leave Whelan out of the deal either.

Whelan’s brother David also put on a brave face, also on CNN. He mentions that it’s not the first time that his brother Paul got “left behind” in a trade, and wonders what could now possibly work in a deal with Bout released:

Indeed, the Russians want “parity,” but on their own terms. About the only deal that might work now would be the release of an American who worked for the Russians in the past. Perhaps 78-year-old traitor Robert Hanssen might be an option, assuming Putin has any interest in him at all, but that would be a horrendous swap on top of letting Bout go. And let’s not forget that Hanssen’s espionage got several American intel sources killed in Russia — which would make recruitment even less attractive in the future.