Rubio asked about Marc Fogel, Pennsylvania native imprisoned in Russia, during Senate confirmation hearing
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — During the Senate confirmation hearing for Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday, Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick asked President-elect Trump's pick for secretary of state what he'll do about Marc Fogel, the man from Butler County who has been imprisoned in Russia since 2021.
Last month, the U.S. Department of State under the Biden administration confirmed that Fogel had been "wrongfully detained," something lawmakers from both sides of the aisle had been pushing for.
Fogel, a Butler County native and Oakmont teacher, was teaching in Russia when he was caught with less than an ounce of medical cannabis used to treat a back injury. He was convicted of drug smuggling and drug possession and sentenced to 14 years at a high-security penal colony in Russia.
"This is a ridiculous case," Rubio said. "I mean, this is an American that clearly there was an order given at some level that if you see an American and you have anything you can charge them with, let's charge them and let's collect these because we can trade them in the future for something. There's a global market for this now and it's one of the challenges of the 21st century."
Rubio said improving U.S.-Russian relations will be impossible unless Fogel is free.
"Not that this would solve that problem, but it is at the minimum the kind of thing you would hope to see of anyone who is serious about improving relations, especially if we can get the situation in Ukraine to a peaceful standing," Rubio said.
Pennsylvania Congressman Chris Deluzio on social media thanked McCormick for bringing Fogel up in Rubio's confirmation hearing.
"Marc Fogel is my constituent and I've been fighting to bring him home since I came to Congress. I am ready to work with the next Secretary of State to get him safely out of Russia and reunited with his family," Deluzio said.
As for Fogel's family, they say they have "more hope now than we have ever" after he was declared wrongfully detained.