Omar Latour is the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and the CEO of Dow Jones.

One responsibility that he did not expect when he took this job in 2020 was negotiating

the release of a hostage held by Vladimir Putin.

On March 29th, 2023, Evan Gerskovic, one of the journal's correspondence covering Russia, was meeting with a source at a stakehouse when

FSB agents arrested him and charged him with espionage, an allegation that he and the journal

said was absurd. The US government agreed. In less than two weeks time the State Department

declared that Evan was wrongfully detained, which is an official status that

commits the Biden administration to work for his release.

Littor has played a key role in the legal and diplomatic effort to free Evan.

He's worked with the Biden administration, foreign governments, and through private

channels to figure out what exactly Putin wants to secure the Wall Street Journal reporter's

freedom. I spoke with Latour earlier this week to learn the inside story of this effort.

We discussed how the shadow of basketball star Brittany Griner's detainment in Russia is influencing

talks to bring Evan home.

What Evans detention means for Paul Whelan,

who has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018,

and is the only other American there considered by the U.S US to be wrongfully detained.

Alsu Kermashiva, a Russian American journalist who was arrested by Russian authorities in October

2023, is fighting for that status.

We also discussed why the Russian hitman

Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for murder, may be the

key to unlocking a deal with Putin. And whether the reports of a joint US-German effort

...