The action relies on a section of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act -- named after a retired FBI agent who vanished in Iran 15 years ago and is now presumed dead -- that authorizes the president to impose sanctions, including visa revocations, on people believed to be involved in the wrongful detention of Americans.

In this case, officials said, that could apply to government officials or to criminals or terrorists unaffiliated with a government. Since sanctions may not always help facilitate a jailed American's release -- Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for instance, has proceeded despite a wave of economic sanctions from Western allies -- such punishment is expected to be used judiciously, according to one official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration.

"This threatens the rank and file who play a role in these cases," Danielle Gilbert, a fellow at Dartmouth College's Dickey Center for domestic and international study and an expert in state-sponsored hostage taking, told ESPN. "It's a credible threat to punish a broad swath of officials for engaging in this egregious behavior."

"Sanctions aren't always effective. Research shows they only achieve their goals in a minority of cases," Gilbert said. "But if the threat of sanctions makes it harder to take Americans hostage -- if it makes it harder for our adversaries to engage in this form of coercion -- the policy will have made a huge impact."

It's a stretch to call Griner a hostage.

It's a stretch to call Griner a hostage.

And she is not some first-time tourist who stumbled into something unprepared. She's been traveling to and working in Russia for a long time. But maybe they've known about her drug use and let her slide in the past...of course, she can't admit that or she'd really be fucked.

This was the lead story on the national news tonight. Followed by the Fed raising interest rates. Which has more impact on the average American?

Def. The drug using convicted domestic abuser

That anthem she hates so much must sound better everyday.