President Trump Secures Release of American Imprisoned in Russia in Deal Brokered by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff

President Trump on Tuesday secured the release of an American imprisoned in Russia as part of a deal with the Kremlin negotiated by Mr. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. Marc Fogel, a teacher who was arrested on charges of bringing medical marijuana into Russia in August 2021, was released by the Kremlin and flown out of the country on Mr. Witkoff’s plane. Though he began serving a 14-year sentence in June 2022, Mr. Fogel was only classified as wrongfully detained by the Biden administration late last year. Mr. Witkoff, a billionaire New York real estate executive and close friend of Mr. Trump’s, had been secretly negotiating the deal, though his presence in Moscow became apparent when he flew there on his private jet, alerting online flight trackers. It was the first known trip to Moscow by a senior U.S. official since William J. Burns, then the C.I.A. director, flew to the Russian capital in November 2021 to try to head off an invasion of Ukraine.

Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday will leave Russian airspace with an American who had been in that government's custody, with the White House hailing his release as a sign of improving relations with the Kremlin. Focus was arrested in 2021 over marijuana possession in Russia. "Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia," National Security Advisor Mike Waltz confirmed in a statement. "President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the President’s advisors negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine."

It was not immediately clear which or how many Russians held by the US were being released in exchange for Fogel’s freedom. In August 2024, Fogel was left out of a prisoner swap negotiated by the Biden administration that secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, corporate security executive Paul Whelan and others.