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CNN Live Event/Special

American prisoners held captive in Russia returned home. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired August 02, 2024 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[00:00:00]

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Will we hear more from the president of the United States on this extraordinary moment, even briefly trotting to access the press?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: (inaudible) relief for the family.

UNKNOWN: Did you think that this moment would come, sir?

BIDEN: Yes.

UNKNOWN: What made you feel so confident?

BIDEN: My relationship with other heads of state that I had to get to agree on all (ph) that (ph).

UNKNOWN: Tell us what you said (inaudible) free (ph) Americans, sir (inaudible).

BIDEN: Pardon me?

UNKNOWN: What did you have to say to the three Americans and their family members, sir?

BIDEN: Welcome home, and beyond that.

UNKNOWN: You said, sir, that family is everything earlier today. What has it meant to be with the family all day today as they are now finally reunited with their loved ones?

BIDEN: You can appreciate, look, anyone who's lost family or worried about whether family would come home, whatever the circumstance was, has to understand the extreme, and you've heard me say it before. My dad used to say, family is the beginning, middle and the end. It really is. About who we are. It's about who we are as a country.

UNKNOWN: What is your message tonight to Vladimir Putin?

BIDEN: Stop.

UNKNOWN: What's your message to the American people (inaudible) the American people are watching this broadcast tonight, and I think it's fair to say they're celebrating with the families. What's your message to the American people?

BIDEN: There's nothing beyond our capacity when we act together. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. No matter who the hell we are, we're the United States of America. The United States of America. We put back together relationships with countries we haven't had before. Rebuilt NATO, we rebuilt the circumstances allowing this to happen. That's why it happened.

UNKNOWN: And Mr. President, should American journalists ever feel afraid about reporting abroad?

BIDEN: I think, look, no matter where you are, there's certain places where you're going to be afraid. The idea is you're never going to be afraid, you'd never show up anywhere in the Middle East. You wouldn't show up anywhere in Russia, you wouldn't show up anywhere. It matters. It matters to be aware of what you're going into and not to take undue chances, because it's going to -- because I'm going to come get you.

UNKNOWN: Where does this rank among your many achievements as president?

BIDEN: Look, this is, to me, this is about the essence of who we are as a country. It really is about personal relationships. It's about family. It's about being able to have access to your own, the people you love and you adore. Imagine how you'd all feel if you had been held captive unfairly and you had children waiting home for you. Imagine how you'd feel.

How many of you have children? Raise your hand. Yes, OK. Imagine being sitting in prison, not knowing you'll ever get home, wondering what's going on with your children, how they go to bed at night crying, ache every night. Every day. It matters.

UNKNOWN: (inaudible) hours before you announced that you were going to be leaving the 2024 race, can you talk to us a little bit about how important it was for you to get this deal done, knowing that you were not going to seek a second term? Was it very important?

BIDEN: I still get it done even if I was seeking a second term. Not -- I'm still -- you're stuck with me as president for a while, kid. There's no way out. OK? You got me for at least another 100 or 90 days or so. So, it didn't have anything to do with that. It had to do with the opportunity and trying to convince one last country to say, OK, they'll step up.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, certainly this will now be cemented as a part of your one term legacy. How are you thinking about the rest of your time in office? How are you --

BIDEN: Oh, we could talk about that another time.

UNKNOWN: (inaudible) Chancellor Scholz's commitment to getting this deal across the finish line. Could it have been possible without that agreement?

BIDEN: No. UNKNOWN: (inaudible) Madam Vice President. Madam Vice President, your reaction tonight?

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a very good night. It's a very good night. And it's testament to the work that we prioritize under Joe Biden's leadership in our administration, which is the importance of building alliances, building the strength that we have through diplomacy to have outcomes like this.

And there's so much at stake right now in our country and in this upcoming election, including who has which approach to understanding America's strength. This is an example, the strength of American leadership, in bringing nations together to deliver Americans (inaudible).

UNKNOWN: (inaudible) somebody like Mark Vogel, Madam Vice President.

COATES: We were just watching the president of the United States answer questions alongside the vice president of the United States, now the presumptive Democratic nominee. He was asked two questions to which he gave one word answers. One, did you ever expect a day like this to come?

[00:05:00]

To which he responded simply, yes. Asked what his message to Vladimir Putin was, he said, stop.

He encouraged everyone to know that there was nothing beyond the capacity of the United States and reminded, as he often says, tell them who the hell we are. We are the United States of America. He talks about putting back alliances, the importance of having rebuilt NATO, and also the idea of trying to appeal to the personal relationships and what it must be like for the families and children of those who were there.

He also was asked about the security of the press as he himself walked the line in a country that believes in the freedom of the press and said, it matters to be aware, not take undue chances believing that they would come to get them. But ultimately, this was about the essence of what America was. Our own MJ Lee asked the question about whether his decision to get this done was impacted at all by his choice not to run for reelection. He said that he would still get it done even if he were not running.

Let me go to MJ Lee, who had so many critical questions. We were waiting with bated breath in this critical moment. MJ Lee, the president of the United States and the vice president addressing the nation and, dare I say, the globe tonight.

MJ LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I have to tell you, Laura, I am going to be processing the events of the last hour or so for a while. Just seeing that plane, the light come through the darkness of the sky, landing the stairs, coming down, and then seeing finally those three Americans come out. I know that we are going to spend a lot of time talking about

President Biden's role in all of this, as we already have been, and sort of the diplomatic push and the efforts that have gone into what culminated in what we saw tonight. But I really do think the story tonight is about Paul. It is about Evan. It is about Alsu, seeing them being able to greet their families that were standing on the tarmac was an incredibly emotional and powerful moment.

Paul Whelan coming off the plane and hugging his sister, Elizabeth (ph), who has been waiting for some six years for this moment. Seeing Evan coming off that plane and hugging and lifting up his mom, actually, in a bear hug, and greeting his family and all of the Wall Street Journal journalists and employees who were here to greet him.

And then of course, seeing Alsu, the family members that greeted her, her two daughters and her husband, really just let out a collective scream. And I know you were talking about this before, but I couldn't help but really keep a close eye on her daughter, Miriam (ph), who, just minutes ago, turned 13. So, now, as the president was saying at the White House earlier today, he had said now she gets to celebrate with her mom.

And that's what this is all about. That is certainly now the case, now that Alsu has been united with members of her family, her two daughters especially. You cannot imagine the experience that they have been going through. Not to mention, of course, her husband. Now, just to reset for a second.

I know we talked about this during the day, but where these three Americans are now headed soon is on another airplane to head to San Antonio, where they will go to a medical center to make sure that they can be properly examined and get all of the care that they are going to need in the coming days and weeks for what we certainly expect is going to be a long process of recovery, of rehabilitation, of processing everything that they had gone through.

We do not know the full story, of course, of each of these three Americans and their stories and everything that they had been through. And that is certainly something that is just important to keep in mind. Just the process that is ahead for each of them.

As joyous as this moment and this night was, the road ahead for them could be challenging again, as they sort of sort through and get the help that they need, given the sort of harsh and tough conditions we expect that they very much faced while they were in Russian detention, Laura, but I really will tell you, this is one of the most sort of joyous moments I have had the honor of covering as a reporter. Being able to see those Americans freed and stepping on U.S. soil. That was just an incredibly emotional moment. And we were so glad to have been able to witness it tonight.

COATES: Unbelievable. It truly was. We weren't able to hear what Evan Gershkovich had to say, but we can only imagine. We'll bring this on (ph) when we can. The poignance of those words as everyone was watching. And you and I are both moms, and I think every mother across the globe felt the bear hug from Evan Gershkovich and the lifting off the ground, as I am somebody whose son is growing taller than her by the day. What that must have been like.

There was such a common element of humanity in just that moment, let alone all the rest.

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MJ Lee, standby. Continue to take in this moment. We're gonna come back to you. We need to hear your perspective. It's so essential. Let me turn to this panel.

Can you believe what we have seen? I mean, we were talking about this. This was truly extraordinary. The light of that plane coming through, reminding us of the Star-Spangled Banner. You know, different verses about the bombs bursting in air, the light giving proof that a flag was still there. Well, a light came through the clouds, showing that there was -- there are Americans, and there was diplomacy still present.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I feel honored that we got to witness all that. I mean, they landed half an hour ago, and I thought that much of this would be done in private, understandably. And we got to watch this historic moment, as they each stepped off the plane to see the president and the vice president.

And then just those incredible moments with their families as they're reunited. In Paul Whelan's case, see him there coming down. He hasn't seen his sister in more than five and a half years. Our Samantha Waldenberg, our colleague, was actually in that press scrum as Evan Gershkovich walked over.

And he simply said to his colleagues, I'm home, according to our producer there. I can't help but think about Paul Whelan in this moment. I mean, you can't compare the different experiences that these three had, but he was the person who was held the longest. He --

COATES: Remind us of the claims against him for which he was wrongfully detained?

MARQUARDT: He was arrested In December of 2018, and accused of espionage and tried and convicted and sentenced to 16 years. Following his arrest and detention, Trevor Reed was arrested. Brittney Griner was arrested, and the two of them came home. Each of them were exchanged for a single Russian in the U.S. judicial system, and he was essentially left behind.

Our colleague, Jennifer Hansler, spoke to him repeatedly, and he expressed his sadness at not being exchanged, not being freed, but at the same time, he expressed his happiness that others got to be released and got to go home. Trevor Reed said upon his release that he felt bad that Paul Whelan was still in captivity, and that he would continue to work for his release.

So, we're so happy for all of these prisoners who were released today. But I'm thinking specifically of Paul Whelan, who's had such an arduous and horrific ordeal over the past almost six years. COATES: There were names being shouted out from some of the press about some who have been left behind as well. And there's been criticism of, or at least concern for those who still remain.

MARQUARDT: Yes. In particular, someone named Marc Fogle. So, there are -- he's another American. He was convicted of drug smuggling. He was found to have some 17 grams, I believe, of cannabis. So, almost half an ounce, and he is not someone who the U.S. considers wrongfully detained, which is a very -- it's a legal term and it's very specific.

But he did not get released today, which I think was quite a surprise, given the scope of the release that we saw and the number of people who were involved. And there was a pretty swift reaction from his family. I've got the statement here in front of me.

And they said that for the second time in three years, Marc Fogle's detention in Russia, we are completely heartbroken and outraged that Marc has been left behind while the U.S. government brought other Americans home. So, they also expressed their well wishes to the Gershkovich and Whelan families. But they said that it is incomprehensible that the U.S. government did not manage to get their relative, Marc Fogel, out today.

COATES: Ambassador, it speaks to the bittersweet nature and the nuanced nature and the incredible different difficult decisions that must be made in trying to determine a prioritization of people who are likely viewed completely equally by Americans as American. When you see this moment, a reunification, and you see all the effort that must have gone into it, what's your reaction tonight?

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: It has to be joy, it has to be happiness, it has to be satisfaction. It has to be some pride, Laura, in what our government has done. We did it as Americans. We had values. They represented values. We wanted to bring them home into those places where we respect those values. So, it's a good time for us to remember what those values are and what they represent.

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COATES: Vice President Harris was speaking at the end there and giving comments, and she spoke to the need of building alliances and the strength through diplomacy for outcomes like this to happen. But she also said, in mentioning the 2024 presidential election, which is now 95, I think, days away, that it's about who has the right approach to diplomacy to alliances.

You are a former ambassador. Certainly you are uniquely equipped to tell us about the significance of alliances and being able to go to a country like Germany, Slovenia, and others and have the diplomatic capital to have this outcome?

TAYLOR: Well, that's exactly right. That's what alliances do. They work together. They work toward a common goal. They bring different skills and different strengths to an alliance, and that allows them to get things done that they couldn't do individually. We couldn't have done this. The United States couldn't have done this alone. President Biden recognized that the chancellor, the German chancellor,

had a big decision to make, and he made that because of respect for the United States. He made that out of determination, that it was good for his country in the end to get those German citizens back. So, that was a difficult thing, but it drove the alliance. I mean, the alliance allowed that to happen. And so, there are values on alliances that give us things.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: And I thought it was fascinating that when President Biden and the vice president finally came near the microphones, that was one of the first points they wanted to make. You know, we've seen other presidents in other situations after something joyous like this make it about themselves, say, I did, et cetera, et cetera.

And every time President Biden was asked, he talked about, thank goodness Slovenia was willing to do this for us. Thank goodness, you know, couldn't have done it without Chancellor Scholz. So, in this big, messy, joyous moment on the tarmac, all disorganized, you didn't get a sense of ego there. I think that's the other thing that's going to be, it's going to temper what we hear from those released.

There's going to be a certain amount of survivor's guilt that there are others like Marc Fogel still left behind, and they won't want to say too much for fear of hurting the cases of other folks still being detained.

And I think you also saw that, that was the other bit of message control we saw from President Biden. He was given the opportunity to bash Vladimir Putin, and he did not, saying stop is something he said publicly before, but he didn't go any further, because there are still people they'd like to get out before the end of this presidency.

COATES: Just moments ago, we were watching the motorcades leaving. It just tells you it's almost the idea of the time that goes on: 45 minutes about after landing, the president and the vice president are heading back to continue in the work of their administration.

We have MJ Lee, who has been on that tarmac, who's been covering this so closely, and we are just thinking about the images seared in our brains. For me, it's the teenage daughters hugging their mother in this moment. MJ, do you have some information about what Paul Whelan, what Evan Gershkovich were saying to reporters?

LEE: Yes, we do. You know, we weren't able to quite hear what Evan was saying as he was greeted by his colleagues in the press. But I am told by somebody that was in that scrum, that he did greet the Wall Street Journal's world coverage chief, saying, Hey, boss. And then thanked Emma Tucker. This is, of course, the Editor in Chief of the paper, for all of the work that she and others at the paper had done to get him freed and get him home.

This was a real moment of celebration. You could really hear the cheers when Evan finally, after greeting his family, approached that scrum of reporters. Again, about a dozen Wall Street Journal employees, we were told here, some of them covering this moment, but all of them here to celebrate his return home.

We are also learning that Paul Whelan said when asked about other Americans that still remain wrongfully detained abroad, that he responded with, just hang in there. We are coming for you. This is really quite a poignant thing for Paul Whelan to say, of course, because he understands better than anybody else what it feels like to be left behind, to wait for the U.S. government to secure your release, and to learn that it isn't your turn.

Most notably, of course, most recently I should say, was back in December of 2022, when Brittany Griner was released from Russian detention. And he was not a part of that mix. U.S. officials at the time had said they very much pushed for Paul Whelan to be a part of that swap, but he simply wasn't.

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And we know from all of the reporting that particularly my colleague Jenny Hansler or has been doing and has been in contact with him over the course of many months, that he very much felt frustrated, at times incredibly angry that his time wasn't coming. And now he is in the position of trying to send that message to anybody that is still detained abroad, that their turn will soon come.

This, of course, would apply to somebody like Marc Fogel, who U.S. officials had said they wanted to be a part of this historic, massive deal. They made that push in the same way that they did for Paul Whelan in that Brittany Griner deal. Marc was not a part of this deal. And U.S. officials have really said that they are going to double their efforts to, at some point, get him out and get him home as well, Laura.

COATES: MJ, we have some sound of what Evan Gershkovich, who came off the plane, kind of held his hands up for a moment as if to say, I'm home. Here's what he had to say as he's walking towards the press.

UNKNOWN: Evan, how does it feel to finally be home?

EVAN GERSHKOVICH, KIDNAPPED AMERICAN JOURNALIST: It's not bad. It feels good.

COATES: Not bad. It feels good. Pretty unbelievable to think about that, you know, the split screen, as you've mentioned, Brittany Griner. MJ Lee, I mean, the Olympics are going on. She is participating, playing on behalf of the United States of America, only made possible by her release through the concerted effort of diplomatic negotiations to get her home. And tonight she's also expressing her joy that they are able to be home as well. It's pretty extraordinary, MJ.

LEE: Absolutely. And you can't help but just feel like you are a part of this celebration here. Even just being, of course, a member of the media, but just being an American, watching the events of the last hour unfold.

You know, President Biden in the questions, the many questions that he took from reporters, he obviously wanted to take this moment to take a victory lap, talked a lot about those diplomatic efforts that he had made and his administration had made, to get to this historic deal. And he said simply that my job is to first make sure that these kinds of detentions don't happen, but that second that when they do, he has to get them home.

Vice President Kamala Harris, we should note, was standing right next to the president that entire time and weighed in at points, talking about the power of diplomacy. So, just a lot of different moving pieces here.

There is, again, as we have been talking about, the diplomatic push and all of the efforts that went into what we saw tonight and getting these three Americans home, but then just separately, the very human story of these three Americans being reunited with their family members that so desperately wanted to see this moment, wanted to feel and touch their loved ones back in their arms. And that is, of course, what we just witnessed, Laura.

COATES: We certainly did. It's the pinch me moments that were followed by the hugs. MJ Lee, thank you so much. I want to get right to Tom Nichols. He's a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Professor Emeritus of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, where he taught for 25 years.

His latest article is about how this prisoner swap is a big win for the Kremlin as well. Tom, I just want to get your reaction at first to what we have seen tonight. I mean, this is an extraordinary moment. The largest prison swap since the Cold War, and three Americans home on American soil tonight.

TOM NICHOLS, THE ATLANTIC STAFF WRITER: How can you not be proud to be an American at a moment like that? To see what we just saw tonight, and especially when you realize that the United States government got these people out because they're citizens, they're innocent people.

They're our sons and daughters, our husbands and wives, our fellow citizens. And what the Russians got were murderers, hackers, and money launderers. And that shows what a difference there is between these two countries and what they both did to get these people back.

COATES: It is quite extraordinary to think about that and the who and the what and the why. And frankly, your piece, which is really fascinating, the title of your piece is, The Kremlin gets what it wants. How is this swap you call a victory for Putin?

NICHOLS: Well, I didn't mean to imply that this is a huge win for Russia and not for the United States. But Putin wanted this swap, I think, for two reasons. One is it's a way for him to say to all the people doing his bidding around the world, all of these thugs and secret agents and bad guys in general, don't worry. If something happens to you, I will come for you. I will make sure I get you out. That's the deal.

[00:25:00] It's almost like a mafia code, right? If you do your sit and you do your time, I will get you out and we will spring you. The other is to try to kind of smear the West as being just like Russia. Look, they trade in people, we trade in people. They have people who did bad things. We have people who they accuse of doing bad things, and we're all the same. And he gets back some people that might be of value to him, might not be, but that he definitely wants to make the point that we are the same because we're doing these swaps.

And we're not the same. And I think you saw that tonight. But the Kremlin does get what it wants. It held onto these people. As I said in the piece, it takes human beings and it puts them on a scale like slabs of meat until they get kind of the deal they want. And unfortunately, that's the kind of regime we had to deal with to get our people back and get them home.

COATES: I wonder about the why now and the gains, as you described. Does it have anything to do, do you think, with American politics, in terms of the timing? MJ Lee, I would note, asked President Biden this very question about what this would look like, and he said, look, he would still get it done even if he was running for reelection, and joked about how we're stuck with him for another 100 plus days until Inauguration. But that this decision, that this deal had nothing to do with politics. It had to do with the timing of one country stepping in and up to the plate at the appropriate time.

NICHOLS: Yes, I think that's right. I think we shouldn't get too obsessed about our own politics and think that everything in the world revolves around our election schedule or around American political conventions. This deal took a couple of years, and all deals like this, these kinds of swaps, they're incredibly intricate.

This one especially so, because it wasn't just between the United States and Russia. It involved other countries. And you know, they operate on their own schedule, and they do things when they want to do things. And you know, I think the president made a good point that this is really about the value of alliances and convincing other countries to do things when you need them to come through.

But the idea that somehow the Russians or anybody else kind of timed this to be where it was, I suspect this deal was going to happen sometime around now, no matter who was running for what because it made sense to the Russians. They got the pound of flesh they wanted, they got their people back, and at that point, it just made sense to get on with it and finish the deal. And I think they would have done that no matter what was happening in American politics at that point.

COATES: Tom Nichols, thank you so much. I do wanted to bring in CNN State Department reporter and producer Jennifer Hansler. Also with us, Ambassador William Taylor and Kim Dozier. They are still here, as well. Jennifer, this is extraordinary. I mean, everyone hoped a day like this would come, not the least of which are those who are released and their families. But to see it happening and to hear President Biden asked, did you ever think this day would come? And him plainly to say, yes. JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Yes. I mean, a remarkably moving moment, Laura. And one thing that stood out to me was the way that Whelan saluted the president. This is an ex Marine. This is someone who told me in our conversations one thing that kept his spirits up was waking up and singing the National Anthem from his Russian detention camp there, about eight hours from Moscow, so that he was able to keep his spirits pretty high throughout the course of this five and a half year long plight.

There were times when his spirits dropped, for example, when he was not included in that prisoner swap for Brittany Griner. But overall, for someone going through this absolute nightmare, he was able to keep a strong sense of self. And we saw that reflected there as he was getting off that plane.

COATES: What a moment to think about that salute and the return salute from the president of the United States. You know, there's a lot of information we have yet to learn about the decision making process, but do you have any insight as to his inclusion this time?

HANSLER: Well, I think the key factor here was the inclusion of Vadim Krasikov in that massive prisoner swap we had (ph) take place earlier today. In the past couple of rounds when Paul was not included, one of the things that's been suggested is that Moscow was not going to trade him for anyone less than a spy or an assassin.

We know in the Russian system they want parity. They want someone who they see as an equal to whoever they are trading. The U.S. didn't have any Russian spies in their custody, so this set off this whole diplomatic, really complicated negotiation to find spies and assassins like Krasikov to be able to trade for Paul.

COATES: Remind us, Krasikov, what he did and why he was serving time in Germany?

HANSLER: Well, he was serving out a life sentence for murder. My colleagues might be able to correct me, but he assassinated someone, was it --

TAYLOR: Chechen.

HANSLER: Chechen. Yes, yes.

DOZIER: In the middle of the afternoon, in a public park.

TAYLOR: Public park.

[00:30:00]

COATES: Which, of course, would tell you why there would be some reluctance to release that person, right?

DOZIER: Yes. I mean, Germany has a number of people who fled other countries seeking safety, a safe haven, be it from the Middle East, Syria, etcetera. And it prides itself on taking care of its citizens and respecting their privacy. And to give someone like this up, someone who'd committed murder in

broad daylight in such a brazen fashion, you know, the worry would have been, what signal does that send? Will they just do it again then, and then seize somebody else? But of course, President Biden addressed that. They said, look, you know, this has been going on since time immemorial. Remember the U.S. hostages seized back in 1979 by Iranian revolutionaries? It is a stock and trade that happens.

You just have to be careful where you go, how you go. And ultimately, President Biden followed through with that promise of, you know, we're going to bring them home. Despite the fact that it could be a green light to malign actors, to take another American the next time they want someone back.

COATES: All of you, please stand by. I want to speak with you more about this extraordinary moment and what has taken place tonight. We're going to take a short break. There's much more on the arrival of these three now free Americans who have their feet firmly planted on American soil.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:35:00]

COATES: Breaking news tonight. Just moments ago, this scene: three Americans touching down on U.S. soil following the biggest prisoner exchange with Russia since the end of the Cold War. You see Paul Whelan embracing the president and the vice president, followed by, of course, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, who -- it was Kurmasheva. Excuse me. An extraordinary moment.

Joining me now, former National Security Council Director Hagar Chemali, CNN's National Security Analyst and former CIA Chief of Russia Operations, Steve Hall, and CNN Political and National Security Analyst David Sanger. What an extraordinary night we are seeing. Let me begin with you here, Steve, because there is obviously the primary interest, of course, in the well being of these individuals, one of whom has served for years already. But talk to me about the intelligence gathering aspect and all this for the released prisoners. How does that work from here now?

STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You know, a lot of people ask. It's been one of the themes that's been sort of popping up during the course of the coverage today, which is, you know, the CIA involvement in this. And it's not necessarily obvious, I think, for a lot of Americans how this works. Certainly, the Central Intelligence Agency deploys case officers and people overseas to collect intelligence.

But the other very important thing that CIA people do overseas is they do precisely this. They have liaison relationships, even with countries like Russia that we're essentially enemies with or adversaries with. And it's so that these types of arrangements can be done. The Russians always insist that it happen in intelligence channels when situations like this occurred, because they feel that it's the most secure and the most, basically, they're just most comfortable with doing it that way.

So, that's the role that CIA plays, and that's one of the reasons that the CIA Director was there this evening and involved in this whole process, over the months and years that it's taken to do this.

COATES: But Steve, what will happen now that they are going to go now and leave San Antonio? They'll have, obviously, medical assessment, but they'll be asked a number of questions. I suspect the intelligence community and the government would be interested in some of the questions and answers they will pose.

HALL: Yes, there will be some questions that will be asked and will provide some interesting intelligence, with regard to prison conditions inside of Russia, the operations that were conducted by the Russian intelligence services to scoop these people up and take them hostage. So, yes, there'll be some of that. It won't be only CIA that's interested in that.

There'll be a number of other organizations, FBI, and others that are curious about that. So, there is some interest there. But you know, most of CIA's work is, of course, foreign collection. These people who have just been released do have some information, and they'll be debriefed on that.

COATES: David, you know, we're learning that I think Donald Trump was critical of this deal. What's your reaction?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It doesn't surprise me. I mean, the first and interesting thing is that Paul Whelan was taken during the Trump administration. I think that's why you saw President Biden issue that sort of quip at the end of his statement earlier today, which is that if President Trump thought it was so easy to get them back, why didn't he do it when he was president?

But I think, you know, this -- this gets to two or three larger points. And the first is, that this took some diplomacy with allies, and it particularly took diplomacy with the Germans. And during President Trump's time, we had a particularly difficult relationship with Germany and with Angela Merkel, who President Trump made no secret how he disliked.

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In this case, it would not have worked had Chancellor Scholz not agreed to give up a Russian intelligence agent who had been, as you were discussing before, convicted of murder in the middle of the Tear Garden in the middle of the city. And so, that was one of the fruits of new relationships that had come up.

I think the second goes to what you were just discussing about the CIA. And in this case, we have a CIA Director in Bill Burns, who used to be Ambassador to Moscow, knows Putin better than any of the administration officials who are out there, the Russians have some grudging respect for him as well. And he's repeatedly played diplomatic roles outside of the usual channels for a CIA Director in the Mid East.

And in this, he was the one who was sent to Putin to warn him of the dangers of invading Ukraine. It didn't work, but it's interesting that he was the emissary. So, I think these are all sort of elements of what happened today, and then there's just the pure joy of it. I mean, we're all impartial reporters, but it's hard to be impartial when you see one of your colleagues and competitors, the great Evan Gershkovich, get off that plane.

COATES: When you see, as all of us are human beings, watching what transpired and those who are welcoming them home, an extraordinary moment. Hagar, let me go to you, please, because the Russians have released -- who were released have some criminal history, to say the least. We have a bit of a screen of who's there.

One includes an assassin who killed someone brazenly in the middle of a park in Germany. You've got a money launderer, a computer hacker. Are there any now national security concerns with any of these individuals and also why Putin would want these specific ones back?

HAGAR CHEMALI, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL DIRECTOR: Well, there's always a risk when you. When you have any kind of at prisoner swap that the thugs and the murders and assassins that you're releasing are going to go back to their old ways, and a lot of it might not even be in their -- in their hands.

Putin is going to use that leverage over them and say, you know, I got you released, and now you're going to go back to doing this kind of work for me in response and as in gratitude of what I did to release you. And it's very common. You've seen it with every kind of every prisoner, and you've seen it with, particularly with the Russian regime.

And why the Russian regime? Because this has been -- hostage diplomacy has been a hallmark of their foreign policy for decades. So, they collect American hostages and other hostages specifically to use them as bargaining chips. It's really a tool of the week, and it's because of their nefarious behavior around the world.

So, they use them to achieve a number of goals. But one of them is to get these thugs back so that they can deploy them. And in particular, when they're in the middle of a war with Ukraine, I have no doubt that all of them are going to be deployed for this type of work again.

COATES: Very foreboding to think about that. Steve, I mean, take a listen for a moment to a visibly emotional National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan just talking about the deal today.

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I spent a lot of time with the families of Evan and Paul and Alsu, and most of the time, as you can imagine, those are tough conversations. But not today. Today -- excuse me. Today was a very good day, and we're going to build on it, drawing inspiration and continued courage from it, for all of those who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world.

COATES: Steve, can you shed some light on just how difficult it is to put deals like this together and then to actually have an achieved outcome?

HALL: Yes. Particularly, Laura, with the Russians, it's I'm trying to think of the right word. It's just so frustrating because the lines get changed, the goalposts get pushed back. The other thing that I think a lot of viewers in the United States don't understand is, or don't see with the granularity that I've and just the whole-of- government approach, to try to do something like this.

So, this isn't just one individual, one administration, one agency, one organization. This is the entire National Security apparatus coming together to try to focus and get something extremely important done. It took such a long time. It was so complicated. Must have been so frustrating.

And I think that's why we saw the National Security Advisor becoming emotional. Not usually an emotional guy, but it just shows how much work, how much energy, how much frustration, how many obstacles had to be cleared to get to this. And it wouldn't surprise me if, in addition to feeling euphoria and happiness about seeing the result of that, I certainly still feel a sense of rage because Russia will continue to do these types of things.

I mean, how many countries does Russia have to invade? How many hostages does it have to take?

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How many people does it have to kill, not only inside Russia but outside of Russia, before the rest of the world says, you know, these guys aren't very nice.

We need to do something about this. What that something is, is another very complicated question for another day. But all of that, I think, came together when you saw the National Security Advisor addressing the public today.

COATES: Describe with one word when President Biden was asked, what is your message to Vladimir Putin? Stop. Hagar, Steve, David, thank you both and all so much.

HALL: Thank you.

COATES: We'll have more on the freed Americans returning to U.S. soil and meeting with President Biden and Vice President Harris, and most importantly, hugged and embraced by their loved ones in just a moment.

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COATES: Look at the cover of the Wall Street Journal. Evan Gershkovich is free. A photo taken from the plane when he, along with two other Americans, were on their way, first to Turkey and then to the United States of America. They all three touched down on U.S. soil, being greeted by the president of the United States and the vice president. The historic deal so big it involved 24 detainees, seven countries.

Russia giving up 16 prisoners to the U.S. and its allies, in turn, getting back eight. But tonight, the focus is on the three who touched down. Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva welcomed home by their families, embraced by either their daughters, their sisters, their mothers, and their colleagues.

My panel is back with me. Jennifer, I mean, you have been talking to the family members for quite some time. What did this mean to them?

HANSLER: Well, this is a huge moment for them, Laura. I want to point to Elizabeth Whelan, she has been a fierce, fierce advocate for her brother's case from the very get go back before there were a lot of the guidelines and protocols that we see in place now for wrongfully detained Americans. Those weren't necessarily in place five and a half years ago when Paul was detained.

So, she was coming to D.C. dozens of times every year on her own dime to meet with lawmakers, to meet with government officials, to press the urgency of her brother's case. And we saw her there on the tarmac, able to give him a hug after five and a half years of only really being able to hear from him from letters. So, really remarkable moment for her there.

And then, of course, the other really, really touching moment, among the many touching moments we saw was when Alsu Kurmasheva's daughters and husband were able to embrace her there on the tarmac. Her younger daughter, Miriam [ph], today is her 13th birthday, but her older daughter Bebe [ph] just turned 16 about two weeks ago.

So, unfortunately, she had this big milestone birthday that her mother was not able to be there for. And I spoke to her and she said, it has been incredibly hard to be going through this time, you know, as a young woman without her mom there to guide her.

COATES: How long has she been held?

HANSLER: She had been held a little over a year. It was a kind of complicated story where she also went to go visit her mother, and then she was blocked from returning home on her flight and eventually arrested and detained. And we saw her convicted about two weeks ago.

COATES: There was almost a kind of hope that they were holding onto (ph) as these two teenage daughters, they had been hoping to have their extraordinary part of their summer to be a Taylor Swift concert. Now they have their mother home.

HANSLER: Yes. Alsu's husband, Pavel (ph), said they were so confident that she would be coming home, you know, in normal due course, that when the Taylor Swift tickets went on sale for her European tour, they bought them for the whole family, assuming she would be home, and we know when we spoke a couple weeks ago, he did not think they would make this concert. I don't know if they're still going to make this concert, but at least they have a good reason for missing it this time. COATES: Taylor Swift, still the beacon of hope across the nation for so many reasons. But what a moment to think about, Ambassador. I mean, we saw something that has not been seen since the Cold War. Reflect on what this significant moment is for you.

TAYLOR: For me, Laura, it's really that the United States pulled together and got something done bringing these people home. The day is focused on those three people, and their joy and the family joy. But I think we as a nation can be proud of what we did.

COATES: And certainly, I mean, we saw a moment when President Biden appeared to remove something from his own clothing and hand it to Paul Whelan.

DOZIER: Apparently, it was his own American flagpin, giving it to Paul Whelan, the Marine. You know, once a Marine, always a Marine. Saw Whelan salute as he got off the plane. And what a moment to honor all of the years that he spent watching other Americans get released. And finally, he's here. I'm thinking about this as also, it's a capstone of a one year presidency, of a one term presidency.

But what a moment to go down in history like that. Also the way that Biden and Harris both talked about it, they kept deflecting, you know, what did you do in this? And saying, this was about allies. This was about them doing things that weren't in their interests because we asked them to. And that is the message that I think they hope will stick, that, you know, they did this for us because they know we'll be for them when they need it.

COATES: And of course, that shows the complication of not just having the sisters, like Miss Whelan or others, going to our own government, but having to wait on the bureaucratic machine to operate globally.

HANSLER: Absolutely, Laura, and Jake Sullivan described this as months and months of painstaking negotiations. That was the word he used. Because they have had to put numerous offers on the table to try to get specifically Paul Whelan home.

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Those efforts were made even more complicated when Evan Gershkovich was arrested last year and when Alsu was also arrested. So, they really had to work the entire interagency to try to get this solution that ultimately resulted in the biggest prisoner swap that we've seen since the Cold War.

COATES: A whole-of-government approach. I can't help but reflect on the fact that today we in the Olympics saw Americans on the top of their podiums holding gold medals. Today, we as a world, watched Americans ascend down the stairs and believed again in what President Biden said, there's nothing beyond our capacity. Thank you all for watching. CNN's live coverage continues in just a moment.

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