Putin Reneged On Deal, Refused To Return Whelan W/ Griner, Says Top U.S. Politician

President Biden was played by Vladimir Putin ... according to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul, who says the Russian president agreed to send Paul Whelan home with Brittney Griner but changed the deal during the exchange.

Despite reneging on the agreed-upon swap, McCaul says the U.S. went through with the trade, sending back notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, knowns as "the merchant of death."

"The deal was originally when the arms dealer from Russia was released that it was supposed to be Griner, the athlete, and Paul Whelan," Rep. McCaul revealed this week during an appearance on CNN.

The Congressman from Texas' 10th district continued ... "When they got to the point of the handoff, they call it, the Russians only showed up with one of the hostages, and that was Griner. And unfortunately, the Marine, Paul Whelan, was left behind."

Rep. McCaul believes the Russian president "played" JB's administration.

"Very tricky on Putin's part, and in my view, the Biden administration got played by releasing a very dangerous arms dealer for just one hostage, and not both."

Of course, 53-year-old Whelan, a retired U.S. Marine, has been locked up in Russia since December 2018. Shortly after his arrest, he was convicted on an espionage charge, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. The U.S. has always maintained the charges are BS.

As for the details of the negotiations, McCaul is likely in a position to know about the inner workings of the months-long, high-level discussions ... he chairs the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee. He also previously sat on the House Homeland Security Committee.