Donald Trump released prisoners, dropped charges when negotiating release of Americans held abroad

After a historic prisoner swap Aug. 1 among the U.S., Russia and other countries, former President Donald Trump questioned the details and compared it with deals he made during his presidency.

"So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash?" Trump wrote Aug. 1 on Truth Social. "I got back many hostages, and gave the opposing Country NOTHING — and never any cash. To do so is bad precedent for the future." 

Three American citizens were among the released: U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was imprisoned in Russia for almost six years; Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who had been imprisoned in Russia for more than a year; and Alsu Kurmasheva, a Radio Liberty journalist detained in October 2023.

In exchange for the prisoners held in Russia, the U.S. and other countries released eight prisoners, including Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a lifetime sentence in Germany for murder. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. did not exchange money in the deal.

Trump’s administration released prisoners held by the U.S. government in exchange for having other nations free Americans held abroad. 

"There is ALWAYS a quid pro quo in hostage diplomacy, as this issue is known," said Anthony Wanis-St. John, an American University associate professor of peace, human rights and cultural relations who specializes in conflict zone negotiations. "It can be material, it can be a reciprocal release, or a political concession that is kept secret or is symbolic."

Here are some examples of prisoner exchanges and their terms during Trump’s administration.

In 2019, the U.S. secured the release of Xiyue Wang, a U.S. citizen who had been held prisoner in Iran since 2016. Wang was a Princeton University graduate student conducting doctoral research when he was arrested in Tehran and imprisoned on espionage charges.

In exchange for Wang’s freedom, the U.S. agreed to release Masoud Soleimani, an Iranian scientist who was arrested and charged with violating American trade sanctions against Iran. The Justice Department had dropped the charges and Soleimani was expected to be released from prison before the exchange took place, The New York Times reported.

In 2020, the Trump administration negotiated the release of Michael White, a U.S. Navy veteran who was imprisoned in 2018 after traveling to Iran to visit a woman he met online. White was serving a 10-year sentence after Iranian authorities convicted him of insulting Iran’s supreme leader and posting private information online, The Associated Press reported.

As part of this deal, the U.S. agreed to release Matteo Taerri, also known as Majid Taheri, an Iranian American doctor who had violated U.S. sanctions on Iran. Taerri pleaded guilty and served several months in jail before he was released on bond. The Justice Department dropped its charges against Taerri.

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On Oct. 14, 2020, the Trump administration secured the release of two Americans whom Houthi rebels in Yemen had held captive: Sandra Loli and Mikael Gidada. The remains of Bilal Fateen, an American who died in captivity, were repatriated.

In exchange, more than 200 Houthi militants returned from Oman to Yemen, according to news reports. The Trump administration did not link the two returns as an exchange, but The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials confirmed it was.

"We extend our sincerest thanks to Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman and King Salman of Saudi Arabia for their efforts to secure the release of our citizens," National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said then.

In June 2017, a medical team and a State Department representative returned University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier to the U.S., after he had been detained in North Korea for more than 17 months. Warmbier was in a coma, and a few days later, he died.

On April 25, 2019, The Washington Post reported that North Korea billed the U.S. $2 million to cover Warmbier’s hospital care. The U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier signed an agreement to pay the bill under Trump’s orders, the Post reported.

"We did not pay money for our great Otto. There was no money paid. There was a fake news report that money was paid," Trump said April 26, 2019.

But on April 28, 2019, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton said on "Fox News Sunday" that "it appears" North Korea did demand money from the U.S. He said "that is what I’m told" when asked whether the U.S. envoy signed a document agreeing to pay the money to get Warmbier back.

However, Bolton, who was not working in the Trump administration at the time of Warmbier’s release, said the U.S. "absolutely" did not pay North Korea any money for the release.

Trump said in hostage releases, "(I) gave the opposing country NOTHING — and never any cash." 

Multiple times during Trump’s administration, the U.S. government released prisoners it held in exchange for freeing Americans held abroad.

In one instance, the U.S. agreed to pay money to North Korea for the release of a U.S. citizen, but a White House official said the money was never sent.

Trump’s statement contains an element of truth because he never gave cash in exchange for Americans’ release. However, the statement ignores critical facts about the terms the U.S. agreed to in these exchanges.

We rate the statement Mostly False.

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.