President Donald Trump welcomed home an American teacher late Tuesday who was freed from Russian custody after being detained for more than three years — but refused to disclose what he gave up in the deal.
Marc Fogel was arrested in August 2021 at a Moscow airport after being found with less than an ounce of marijuana, which he used for medical purposes to alleviate back pain. Fogel, now 63, lived and taught in various countries, including Russia for nine years, including teaching the children of diplomats at the Anglo-American School in Moscow.
In 2022, he was sentenced to 14 years in a high-security Russian prison, widely considered an excessive punishment. His case gained national attention as he became a pawn in rising geopolitical tensions between the two superpowers.
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On Tuesday night, Fogel called Trump and his team "heroes."
When a reporter asked Trump the terms of the deal, the president deflected.
"Very fair. Very, very fair. Very reasonable. Not like deals you've seen over the years. They were very fair," he said.
"What were they?" the reporter pressed.
"Somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of. But we wanted to get this done," he said.
Neither Trump nor his administration has revealed the name of the second freed hostage.
Watch the clip below or at this link.
Reporter: What were the terms of this deal?
Trump: Very fair, very, very fair, very reasonable.
Reporter: What were they? pic.twitter.com/761ZS06NtR
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 12, 2025