Trump meets with Stephen Hubbard after release from Russian jail

President Donald Trump hosted Stephen Hubbard at the White House on Friday, days after the 74-year-old retired teacher came home from more than four years in a Russian prison. Russia had accused Hubbard of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Trump invited reporters into the Oval Office and praised Hubbard as someone who had endured a great deal, according to CBS News · The Independent.

Asked by Trump whether his treatment had been reasonably good, Hubbard agreed, adding that some guards were sympathetic toward him. He told CBS News reporter Jennifer Jacobs that he had heard promises of release many times and trusted none of them. Only when he was given new clothes, taken out of the prison and put in a car with Russians did he start to believe it, a conviction that settled in during the ride from Moscow to St. Petersburg. He said he would not have survived another year inside.

News of the release surfaced while envoy Steve Witkoff sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump denied any swap took place, but he linked the outcome to his choice not to apply congressional sanctions on Russia while talks were underway. Those sanctions have not been reimposed.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News · The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News · The Independent →