On December 28, 2018 former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was detained in Russia for espionage charges he claims to know nothing about.
Now either, he is actually a spy and this is all an elaborate cover story or he is the least lucky person in a very long time.
Whelan was in Russia for a family friend’s wedding when he was arrested in his hotel room with a flash drive in his possession they say contains “state secrets.”
When Whelan was handed the drive, he thought it just contained tourism information but he refuses to say who gave it to him and now he and his family believe he has been set up.
His lawyers refuse to run with the “setup” theory but the timing of it also has experts and American officials wondering if this was Russian retaliation for the arrest of Maria Butina, a gun-rights activist who has pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered Russian agent in America.
So is he a spy or not? We will have to see how this one plays out…
Read the full story from ABC News
