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Top lawyer, Trump deputy talks about prisoner swap he negotiated in Eastern Europe

Envoy’s exchanging words

Last week, newspapers reported, “Prisoner swap in Eastern Europe frees 10 people, including accused spies.” The story credited “President Trump’s envoy for Belarus, John Coale, who helped negotiate the exchange.”

Insiders — like way inside the White House — they know lawyer John Coale. Me, I know John Coale. It was dinners, evenings, boat rides, his newswoman wife Greta Van Susteren, mutual friends such as journalist Elaine Lafferty. A nonsmoker, conversation included his — and only due to him — late ’90s $368 billion settlement which he himself won from the tobacco industry.

He was special. Smart. A born Democrat, a Trump friend, also a Trump lawyer. Title? Deputy assistant to the president. He became special envoy for Belarus. Smarts made him friendly with Alexander Lukashenko, the country’s leader, since 1994.

Last week, headlines blared that Coale had negotiated the release of 10 European prisoners. So I asked him how?

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