Russia has released Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, as part of a prisoner exchange negotiated by the Biden administration and completed just months before the U.S. presidential election. Associated Press national security reporter Eric Tucker says the release follows the recent conviction of Gershkovich on espionage charges his employer and the U.S. government called fabricated and in a trial they described as a sham. “Now, there have been momentum and signs that a deal was in the works because Gershkovich’s trial was sped up. He was recently convicted and sentenced to prison. And that was it, for people who were watching it, that was considered a real indication that something was afoot. Given that such trials normally can take a long time. But the conviction came quickly and the sentence was imposed,” Tucker said. The Gershkovich trial’s swift conclusion fueled speculation the process was being cleared for a prisoner swap to bring him home. Gershkovich is the son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey. Whelan is a corporate security executive from Michigan who was detained in 2018 while visiting Russia for a wedding. “He was detained in Russia when he arrived there for a wedding in 2018. He was charged and convicted of espionage charges that the United States government also says are totally fraudulent. helan has been serving a very lengthy prison sentence,” Tucker said.