Judge Jeanine Slams Brittney Griner Victim Narrative: “She Knows What the Laws are in Russia”

There have been plenty of hot takes on Brittney Griner‘s nine-year sentence to jail in Russia after she was arrested for having cannabis on her at an airport back in February.

Many are calling Griner a victim of injustice, or even a political prisoner.

Judge Jeanine Pirro has a different perspective though.

She spoke about Griner’s sentence on the Fox News show, ‘The Five,’ where she claimed that Griner was not a political prisoner at all.

“She’s been going to Russia since 2014, right? Playing basketball there, making a million dollars or whatever she makes.” Pirro exclaimed.

“She knows what the laws are in Russia.”

Judge Jeanine then pointed out that Griner admitted that the vape which contained cannabis and hashish oil was indeed hers.

When asked for clarification about what she was saying about the situation, Jeanine criticized Griner further for her choice not to partake in the US National Anthem:

“Let’s just take off the table the woman who hates the national anthem, who probably is not going to hear it for the next nine years if she’s over there.”

harsh words from Judge Jeanine, but is she right or wrong here?

Fox News ignored the Brittney Griner story for months and only recently started championing her cause as a means of criticizing Pres. Biden. Someone didn't tell Judge Jeanine because she went off on Griner. Judge Pirro also seems to think a lot of the Russian judicial system. pic.twitter.com/KOvzUYtSJF

— Decoding Fox News (@DecodingFoxNews) August 6, 2022

Judge Jeanine’s comments have angered many people who claim she’s being ‘nasty’ or ‘mean.’

Just look at these headlines claiming that she’s celebrating the sentence:

Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro celebrates Brittney Griner’s sentence https://t.co/4AekkrFFcC

— Los Angeles Blade (@LosAngelesBlade) August 7, 2022

A nine-year sentence for personal use cannabis? There is no legitimate argument that this is in any way fair.

Continue reading at https://t.co/fx59BcQnt3 | 10z viral

— NotMyPresident (@rybanova171195) August 7, 2022

Gleeful .⁦@JudgeJeanine⁩ Celebrates another person’s suffering https://t.co/89n1jfI9mx

— Pogos Ghost (@PogosGhost) August 7, 2022

Fox's Jeanine Pirro says she supports Russia’s arrest of American basketball star Brittney Grinerhttps://t.co/pE6fGC9s4x

— Media Matters (@mmfa) August 5, 2022

Media Matters provided a transcript of Judge Jeanine’s comments:

Let’s talk about Brittney Griner. I’m tired of everyone saying she’s a hostage and she’s a political prisoner and all this stuff. She’s been going to Russia since 2014, right? Playing basketball there, making a million dollars or whatever she makes. And she knows what the laws are in Russia. She’s got a vape with cannabis and hashish oil in the vape. She doesn’t deny that it’s hers, she doesn’t deny that she packed it, she just says, I was in a rush. She had a trial, she was supposed to testify at the trial. The trial started on July 1st, July 7th she was supposed to testify. She chose not to testify and instead had a friend, I think, give character testimony. And instead of testifying, she then decided to plead guilty. So let’s just take off the table that this is improper what has happened to her.

While some in the media may think she is being too harsh here, other believe that she made some good points:

https://twitter.com/Talkmaster/status/1553150285803126785?s=20&t=UJywmVsNRIaPSZACefBj9g

#TheFive I agree with Judge Jeanine that Brittney Griner is not a political prisoner. She has been to Russia numerous times since 2014 and knows the Russian laws on drugs. She pled guilty. While the sentence was outrageous, she is not a political prisoner like the Marine held is.

— Freedom Whisperer (@barrows654) August 5, 2022

In case people have forgotten, there’s still innocent people sitting in a jail cell who did absolutely nothing wrong on January 6th, yet people are crying for poor Britney Griner 🙄

— Christy DeJonker (@twinautismmom) August 5, 2022

Britney Griner must be breathing sighs of relief at finally being free from America's oppression.

— Brian Wickens (@BrianRWickens) August 6, 2022

We can acknowledge Britney Griner getting 9 years is a long time & shocking to most people while still understanding that Russia is it’s own country with its own laws & people have to abide by them.

Both can be true.

— Michelle Throatbama (@GawkGawkThwack) August 4, 2022