Trump meets with Stephen Hubbard at the White House after release from Russian jail

Updated on: October 30, 2026 / 4:38 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — President Trump met with Stephen Hubbard, the American recently released from a Russian prison, at the White House on Friday.

Inviting reporters to join them in the Oval Office, the president called Hubbard a "very special man" who "suffered greatly." CBS News was first to report plans for the meeting.

Hubbard was jailed in Russia for more than four years after being accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher, returned home to the U.S. last week.

Mr. Trump said to Hubbard, "I think I could say that you were treated reasonably well, right?" Hubbard said "yes," and that he he was even treated "sympathetically by some of the guards."

CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs asked Hubbard about the moment he learned he was being released.

"I had heard it many times before, and I reached the state where seeing is believing," Hubbard said. "Actions speak louder than words. I never trusted what they said. Only when they started giving me new clothes and leading me to the exit of the prison. I went out and I saw…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/