Frustrated with White House, family of detained American reaches out to Taliban

“We are in the process of finalizing a meeting in Doha with the [Taliban] to try to recover George," wrote George Taylor, a Glezmann family representative, in an email last week to senior U.S. officials including national security adviser Jake Sullivan and top hostage negotiator Roger Carstens.

Taylor accused the administration of putting little emphasis on Glezmann’s case, leaving him to languish in a cell as his health deteriorates. He implored the government “to exhibit the necessary courage and leadership that it takes to facilitate the release of George."

Glezmann, a Delta Air Lines mechanic, was touring Afghanistan when the Taliban seized him in December 2022. The State Department 10 months later designated him as wrongfully detained, giving the administration vast authorities to secure his release. But Glezmann’s family insists they don’t get enough information or cooperation from the Biden administration, driving them to contact Glezmann’s captors in hopes of pushing negotiations forward.

Officials from Carstens’s office at the State Department and the National Security Council previously warned Taylor, a Delta general manager for corporate security, that taking the meeting would complicate efforts to free Glezmann, he recounted, as U.S. officials imminently planned to meet with Taliban members.

A State Department spokesman wouldn’t comment on private conversations with the Glezmann family or representatives, or its engagement with the Taliban.

A spokesman for the Taliban didn’t respond to requests for comment, but the group has long said it would trade Americans for Afghan prisoners held by the U.S. in Guantanamo Bay—a politically risky deal that becomes more fraught as the U.S. presidential election nears.

The episode highlights simmering tensions between the families of hostages and the government that works for them, particularly in the final months of the Biden administration. It is inherently a frustrating experience, as families want up-to-date information while administrations keep many of their actions private to keep negotiations on track. Much of the diplomatic entreaties are classified, U.S. officials note, complicating the government’s messaging.

But there is also a growing sense among some families that there is a tiered system in place, with celebrity hostages getting nearly all the media’s and president’s attention. The Biden administration has long denied this charge.

Still, Aleksandra Glezmann fears her husband’s case is stuck in the perceived lower tier of importance. “We are not wealthy or famous people," she wrote in July in a letter to President Biden. “I beseech you to intervene personally in George’s matter and do everything in your power to bring him home."

She has no confirmation that Biden has read it, even after repeated queries to White House aides if the two-page document was placed on his desk. The National Security Council repeatedly declined to comment on the letter or if Biden is aware of its contents.

In a phone call, Taylor confirmed the trip to meet with the Taliban is on hold until after U.S. officials next meet with Afghanistan’s rulers. But if he and the Glezmann family see no imminent progress, Taylor said he would get on a flight to the Qatari capital and meet with a Taliban representative.

Taylor complained that he, Aleksandra and the family’s attorney consistently fail to receive details about what the administration is doing for Glezmann. The former federal law enforcement agent alleges that when U.S. officials don’t want to answer his queries, “they hit us with the old ‘classified’ card. I have found that in most cases that is used to hide failures or incompetence."

The family of Ryan Corbett, arrested by the Taliban in 2022 and held in the same cell as Glezmann, has also repeatedly come forward to plead their case and demand more attention from senior administration leaders. So has the family of Mahmoud Habibi, an American citizen who disappeared in 2022 after the U.S. killing of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul. The FBI believes Habibi was taken by Afghan military or security forces.

The Taliban have claimed that Corbett and Glezmann violated the law but haven’t commented publicly on Habibi. The U.S. government has said that Glezmann and Corbett have been designated wrongfully detained, a status that opens up additional government resources that can be used to negotiate their release.

That same label hasn’t been affixed to Habibi due to a lack of clarity on his situation, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said earlier in August. But the administration insists it is working on his case similarly to the others.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is actively working to secure the release of George and all Americans wrongfully detained and held hostage around the world," said National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett.

Still, their families say that they have to compete for attention from an administration that has been focused on higher-profile cases.

On Aug. 1, the U.S. and Russia conducted the largest prisoner swap between East and West since the Cold War. Russia released 16 people, including Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained for more than a year and convicted on a false charge of espionage. The others included former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, as well as another journalist and activists who have opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine. Russia received eight people, including a convicted murderer.

Aleksandra Glezmann is scheduled to meet with Sullivan on Sept. 11, though she is hoping for an earlier discussion over fears her husband’s health is rapidly deteriorating. George has what she describes as a benign tumor on his left side, is losing vision in his left eye and is suffering under detention from breathing difficulties.

For those health complications alone, Aleksandra pleaded in her letter to Biden, “now is the time to bring George Glezmann home."