Thursday, Aug. 1, likely started the same as any other day for Malphine Fogel and supporters of her cause to get her son, Marc Fogel, home from a Russian prison.

That is, until the news broke out of Washington that an international swap of dozens of prisoners was going to take place on Thursday.

Speculation soon started to swirl and hopes were raised that finally Marc Fogel may be coming home.

To hammer home the hope, several Pennsylvania lawmakers called for Fogel, who has been imprisoned since August 2021, to be included in the prisoner exchange. A Thursday morning news release from U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., and U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly R-16th, Chris Deluzio, D-17th, and Guy Reschenthaler, R-14th, requested that the U.S. advocate for the release of the schoolteacher.

That hope teetered over the course of ensuing hours, as news outlets indicated Fogel was not among the prisoners being swapped.

It soon became clear that, once again, Fogel would not be coming home.

And the Fogel family made clear they were disappointed.

“It is incomprehensible that the U.S. government, which has secured the release of other Americans and even foreign nationals detained long after Marc, has refused to do the same for Marc Fogel,” the family said in a statement. “This glaring injustice and indifference are unacceptable. It is wrong, unfair, and not the America we know and love.”

While their pain and dismay is well justified, there was a glimmer of hope from Washington.

In a press briefing with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the State Department is working on securing Fogel’s release.

“We're going to build on it, drawing inspiration and continued courage from it for all of those who were held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world,” Sullivan said Thursday. “And that includes Marc Fogel, who we are actively working to get his release from Russia as well.”

For the first time, a Biden administration official acknowledged Marc Fogel is wrongfully detained.

It’s a (very late) start.

— RJ