John Brennan: Bout may try to revive ‘atrophied’ contacts, methods to boost Russian force in Ukraine

Former CIA Director John Brennan joins Andrea Mitchell to break down “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout’s dangerous history as a “notorious international arms merchant,” and the implications of the U.S. returning Bout to Moscow in exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner. “He has been off of the playing field, so to speak, for the last 15 years. So I think probably some of his contacts and other things means of his work and interactions, globally, have atrophied,” Brennan explains. Now that Bout is back in Russia, Brennan says he believes “Putin and the Russians are hoping that Mr. Bout is going to be able to restart some of these activities. I'm sure some of his contacts are still alive and operational, as well as some of his methods of trying to move these weapons surreptitiously around the globe, that they might be able to tap into that capability in order to support their unfortunate efforts that are still ongoing in Ukraine.”