March 31, 2023
CNN / MSNBC / News Nation
Tom Firestone, Stroock partner and former Resident Adviser at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow speaks with reporters to discuss Russia's arrest of Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for the Wall Street Journal accused of espionage.
Tom also serves as a member of the legal team for Marc Fogel, the 61-year-old American teacher held in Russian custody for possession of medical marijuana.
Discussing what U.S. officials should be doing to secure Gershkovich’s release, Firestone says, “the first thing they need to do is get him consular access. They need to get in touch with him, find out what is going on, make sure that he is being treated humanely, and that he has got a real lawyer …. Then they need to start thinking of a longer-term plan. Are there possible swaps? There is a lot of work to be done.” He continues, “these typically do have a political motivation. In this case, it appears there is absolutely no evidence to support the espionage charge whatsoever. A lot of times, these are done as retaliation for an arrest that has made in the West. Just last week, the Department of Justice charged Sergei Cherkasov with being an alleged illegal operative undercover operative for Russian intelligence services. It may be retaliation for that. It may be they are looking to get somebody else out of U.S. custody.”
“They are probably looking to exchange him for somebody … How it will end up, how long it will take, we don’t know.”
Cick here to view the CNN segment. Click here to view the MSNBC segment. Click here to view the News Nation segment.
March 31, 2023
CNN / MSNBC / News Nation
Tom Firestone, Stroock partner and former Resident Adviser at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow speaks with reporters to discuss Russia's arrest of Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for the Wall Street Journal accused of espionage.
Tom also serves as a member of the legal team for Marc Fogel, the 61-year-old American teacher held in Russian custody for possession of medical marijuana.
Discussing what U.S. officials should be doing to secure Gershkovich’s release, Firestone says, “the first thing they need to do is get him consular access. They need to get in touch with him, find out what is going on, make sure that he is being treated humanely, and that he has got a real lawyer …. Then they need to start thinking of a longer-term plan. Are there possible swaps? There is a lot of work to be done.” He continues, “these typically do have a political motivation. In this case, it appears there is absolutely no evidence to support the espionage charge whatsoever. A lot of times, these are done as retaliation for an arrest that has made in the West. Just last week, the Department of Justice charged Sergei Cherkasov with being an alleged illegal operative undercover operative for Russian intelligence services. It may be retaliation for that. It may be they are looking to get somebody else out of U.S. custody.”
“They are probably looking to exchange him for somebody … How it will end up, how long it will take, we don’t know.”
Cick here to view the CNN segment. Click here to view the MSNBC segment. Click here to view the News Nation segment.
