Trump’s Middle East Envoy reveals how the US secured the release of Fogel
Special US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff When he jumped into the jet to Russia to discuss the potential release of American school teacher Mark Vogel, he said some things were still in the air.
Witkov, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, said on Wednesday in “Hanity” that a US-Russian intermediary reached out to Vogel with the opportunity to regain Vogel.
The plan was presented to the president His cabinet member, Includes National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and CIA director John Ratcliffe.
Biden administration’s slow walk mark Vogel designation is designated as an “illegal detainee.”
Mark Vogel, a Pennsylvanian history teacher who worked at an Anglo-American school in Moscow, returned to US soil on Tuesday night after Russia, where he was detained since 2021, to talk with Trump administration officials. He was released afterwards. (White House via x)
Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Witkoff if he knew the ultimate outcome when he got on the jet.
“You know, we thought there was a very high chance that Mark would return. We weren’t positive. There were still some things we didn’t have the freedom to talk to tonight,” he said, “Real Employment.” The house said.
“We thought it was a strong enough opportunity, so hopefully we’ll get good results. And of course we did. So I’m grateful for that, and the Fogel family Thank you very much.”
Vogel was released on Tuesday after spending about three years in a Russian prison on drug charges. He was not included in August 2024 Popular Prisoner Swap Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan were released between the US and Russia.
This image, released by the White House, is Evan Gershkovic, left, Ars Krmasheva, right, Paul Whelan, second from right, on Thursday, August 1, 2024, from a Russian prisoner of war. It indicates that he has been released. (White House via AP)
The White House has announced the Russian National Alexander Vinnik, who pleaded guilty last year. Conspiracy to commit money launderingwill be released as part of Fogel Exchange.
Witkov declined to comment on whether he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip.
Fogel met with Trump Late Tuesday night In the White House wearing an American flag covered in his shoulders.
“I feel like the lucky man on the planet right now,” he says, praising the president and his team as a “hero” to secure his release and bring him home. I did.
US President Donald Trump welcomes Mark Vogel back to the United States after being released from Russian custody at the White House in Washington, D.C. on February 11, 2025. Vogel, a history teacher in Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being arrested in August 2021 at a Moscow airport for possessing cannabis. He was released today as part of an exchange negotiated by the Trump administration. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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“I think he (Vogel) had pinched himself even in three and a half years of prison. I think he thought he was lucky. He was the privilege of seeing him, the privilege of knowing him,” Witkov said. I said. “I’ll keep in touch with him and play a small role in giving him his freedom.”