Trump's week in review: Clergy Act signed; $42M in SNAP fraud uncovered

1. Trump announces release of American detained in Russia

In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump announced that Stephen Hubbard, who was jailed four years ago by Russia, was released from prison at his request. The president said he pushed for Hubbard’s release during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.

“Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family. The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return — an unprecedented situation for Russia. There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release,” he added.

Hubbard’s release comes two years after the 74-year-old former teacher from Michigan was sentenced to seven years in prison for allegedly aiding Ukrainian forces amid Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia.

In another Truth Social post, Trump suggested that holding off on new sanctions against Russia was part of his negotiations with Putin.

“Numerous people, who requested that sanctions be immediately imposed on Russia, have called to apologize to President Trump in that they didn’t know that he was negotiating the release of Stephen Hubbard, a truly big and important deal for the U.S.,” he wrote. “If sanctions would have been placed, certainly those negotiations would have come to a complete and total halt.”

Trump later shared a picture of Hubbard and his family posing with an American flag on a plane bound for the U.S.