Hannah Getahun
Mon, May 9, 2022, 8:59 PM·3 min read
Joey and Paula Reed with a portrait of their son, the Marine veteran Trevor Reed, at their home in Fort Worth, Texas, in February.
AP Photo/LM Otero, File
Ted Cruz expressed public relief that the US citizen Trevor Reed was released from Russian prison.
Reed's father said he was not "appreciative" of Cruz's lack of action in helping to free his son.
A family spokesperson told Insider Cruz could've used his influence to speak with President Trump.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas "didn't do anything" to aid in the Marine Trevor Reed's release from Russian custody, Reed's father, Joey Reed, said.
Trevor Reed was detained in Moscow in 2019 after being convicted of attacking Russian police. He suffered during his stay in a Russian prison, including getting a suspected broken rib and catching COVID-19, his family has said.
He was released on April 27 as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and the US. Reed was swapped for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot sentenced for drug smuggling.
"He didn't do anything," Joey Reed said of Cruz in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. "He's an embarrassment to the state of Texas, let me just say that. I don't care what or who runs against him, I will work for their campaign to defeat that son of a bitch."
The father was so dissatisfied with Cruz' actions surrounding his son that when Cruz called to congratulate the Reed family after publicly showing support for his son's release, the elder Reed said he asked: "Where have you been for the last 2 1/2 years?"
"I hit him point-blank: 'We are not appreciative,'" Reed told The Dallas Morning News.
"They don't need celebratory tweets or phone calls when their loved one has been released," Jonathan Franks, a spokesperson for the Reeds, told Insider. "They need tweets and phone calls when their loved ones are in jail."
Reed called Cruz asking for help years prior, but Cruz's staff said he couldn't speak out about his son's detainment publicly because the senator was an "enemy of Putin," Reed said.
Franks told Insider the call between the Reeds and Cruz's staff member was "unfortunate" and that the senator had not called to check in again until Trevor Reed's release.
Franks also said that it was not a partisan attack — rather, the family wanted to emphasize that Cruz's outsize influence in the world of politics could have been beneficial to the family's fight.
"Particularly when Trump was president, it would've helped a lot if Ted Cruz had picked up the phone and called the president and said, 'Bring this kid home.'" Franks told Insider. "We were almost there. Like, he could have picked up the phone, called Trump, and told him to make a deal."
Franks told Insider that he could not confirm if Cruz had taken such an action privately without the family's knowledge.
Cruz said he did not speak out partly because administration officials told him it could be "counterproductive" since he had been so against Russia's proposed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, he told The Dallas Morning News in a statement.
Joey Reed told the news outlet that GOP Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas also publicly went against the Nord Stream 2 and had still been a vocal advocate for Trevor Reed's release.
Representatives for Cruz did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Business Insider
Ted Cruz expressed public relief that the US citizen Trevor Reed was released from Russian prison.
Reed's father said he was not "appreciative" of Cruz's lack of action in helping to free his son.
A family spokesperson told Insider Cruz could've used his influence to speak with President Trump.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas "didn't do anything" to aid in the Marine Trevor Reed's release from Russian custody, Reed's father, Joey Reed, said.
Trevor Reed was detained in Moscow in 2019 after being convicted of attacking Russian police. He suffered during his stay in a Russian prison, including getting a suspected broken rib and catching COVID-19, his family has said.
He was released on April 27 as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and the US. Reed was swapped for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot sentenced for drug smuggling.
"He didn't do anything," Joey Reed said of Cruz in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. "He's an embarrassment to the state of Texas, let me just say that. I don't care what or who runs against him, I will work for their campaign to defeat that son of a bitch."
The father was so dissatisfied with Cruz' actions surrounding his son that when Cruz called to congratulate the Reed family after publicly showing support for his son's release, the elder Reed said he asked: "Where have you been for the last 2 1/2 years?"
"I hit him point-blank: 'We are not appreciative,'" Reed told The Dallas Morning News.
"They don't need celebratory tweets or phone calls when their loved one has been released," Jonathan Franks, a spokesperson for the Reeds, told Insider. "They need tweets and phone calls when their loved ones are in jail."
Reed called Cruz asking for help years prior, but Cruz's staff said he couldn't speak out about his son's detainment publicly because the senator was an "enemy of Putin," Reed said.
Franks told Insider the call between the Reeds and Cruz's staff member was "unfortunate" and that the senator had not called to check in again until Trevor Reed's release.
Franks also said that it was not a partisan attack — rather, the family wanted to emphasize that Cruz's outsize influence in the world of politics could have been beneficial to the family's fight.
"Particularly when Trump was president, it would've helped a lot if Ted Cruz had picked up the phone and called the president and said, 'Bring this kid home.'" Franks told Insider. "We were almost there. Like, he could have picked up the phone, called Trump, and told him to make a deal."
Franks told Insider that he could not confirm if Cruz had taken such an action privately without the family's knowledge.
Cruz said he did not speak out partly because administration officials told him it could be "counterproductive" since he had been so against Russia's proposed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, he told The Dallas Morning News in a statement.
Joey Reed told the news outlet that GOP Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas also publicly went against the Nord Stream 2 and had still been a vocal advocate for Trevor Reed's release.
Representatives for Cruz did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Business Insider
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