The following is an edited transcript of an interview between Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley and Anna Corbett, whose husband has been held captive in Afghanistan for over two years, on a special Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
* * *
American Businessman Ryan Corbett moved his family to Afghanistan in 2010 where he started a business and became active in the community. But during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal the Corbett family evacuated leaving everything behind. Upon returning to his business in 2022, Ryan and several others were captured by the Taliban. Two years later he remains a prisoner. Morning Wire sat down with Ryan’s wife, Anna, to discuss his unlawful detainment by the Taliban – and how the Biden administration and incoming Trump administration are handling it.
JOHN: Joining us now to discuss her husband, Ryan Corbett’s ongoing unlawful detention by the Taliban is Anna Corbett. Anna, thank you so much for coming on.
ANNA: Thank you for having me. I appreciate this opportunity.
JOHN: So, since your husband Ryan was captured, you’ve been really working to raise awareness and advocate for his release. That recently led to you talking on the phone with President Biden. First, how did that call go?
ANNA: It was a difficult call. I had just received a call from Ryan in the morning. I was traveling. There was a lot in my head and a lot of hope going into that call. And although he was kind and sympathetic to our family and obviously tracking the situation, hearing from him … that he did not seem to be bringing Ryan home and taking a deal on the table was devastating and obviously very disappointing.
JOHN: Was this the first time that you had talked to President Biden?
ANNA: It was the first time and I had been asking for an in-person meeting for a long time and that was also disappointing just to have a phone call with no video with him.
JOHN: What do you think is keeping the president from taking this deal?
ANNA: I don’t know. I am honestly very confused because I have raised a lot of attention and advocated very hard for Ryan, taken 16 trips to D.C., worked in a very bipartisan way, helped pass a House and a Senate resolution and I’m surprised that more progress wasn’t made during this administration. And I wonder if there is fear because it’s Afghanistan, because of the withdrawal that happened and how it happened. I don’t know, but it’s very frustrating from where I sit because, as you know, I took a trip down to Florida to West Palm Beach and am working on advocating with the incoming administration, and it’s taking a lot of effort from our family.
JOHN: I’m sure. What has been the tone from the incoming administration, the Trump administration?
ANNA: This past weekend, I flew down to Florida with my oldest daughter, Katzia, and put in requests to meet with President Trump – unsure of what the outcome of the trip would be, but wanting to do my part in raising awareness for Ryan. And I was incredibly encouraged to meet with my Congresswoman. She was down in Florida and gave me a lot of time and support. And also to see that President Trump sent his incoming national security advisor to me, just within 48 hours of being down in Florida, and he gave us over an hour of his time. I had to beg and work so hard to have a meeting with the current Nationalist Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and it took 16 months to meet with him.
JOHN: So Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, came to talk with you in person within just a couple of days – but Biden’s advisor delayed 16 months. I can’t imagine the frustration there. Can you tell us about your husband’s situation? How long has he been there? What are the conditions? How’s he doing?
Ryan and Anna Corbett
ANNA: Ryan has been held now by the Taliban since August 10 of 2022, almost two and a half years now, very close to 900 days, which I hate saying, because we have felt every hour of those 900 days, and he has been held in bad conditions, recently was moved, and so his conditions improved a little bit. He is receiving better food, but he’s lost a lot of weight. This is having a bad effect on his health, obviously. He’s only 41, and having constant headaches, ringing in his ears, fainting, discolored extremities. I mean, he’s told me that I wouldn’t recognize him, and our communication was very sparse for a long time now. It’s been about every two weeks, which helps, but it’s my husband of almost 21 years and I don’t know where he is. I never know when I’ll hear from him. I’m super grateful, I have to say, the Qataris have really helped set up the phone calls and make sure they happen every two weeks and even recently worked on lengthening them. But, it’s a terrible situation, and I keep highlighting — like, he’s a dad. He wants to see his kids grow up. He missed his daughter’s high school graduation. She was voted prom queen. He missed that. He couldn’t walk her out for homecoming court. He can’t watch his son play basketball. He’s never watched his son play basketball. These are opportunities that every dad wants to have and needs to have with his kids. It’s just devastating what is going on here that he cannot be part of that.
JOHN: Again, I can’t imagine. For those not familiar with your story, what led to his capture? How did this all get started?
ANNA: We lived in Afghanistan as a family. I know that’s unusual, but we lived there for almost 12 years and he had started a business in Kabul and when we had to evacuate as a family, when the Taliban took over, he did not want to leave his staff behind. He didn’t want to abandon what was making a difference in the Afghan people’s lives. And so he kept his business open from a distance. We moved back here to New York. And he took one trip in January, 2022, no problems, renewed his visa smoothly, and was given a warm welcome. And then on the second trip in August, 2022, he was detained and has been held since. So he was trying to help the Afghan people. There have been no accusations, no charges against him. And he was designated as wrongfully detained by our government.
LISTEN: Catch the full interview with Anna Corbett on Morning Wire
JOHN: All right. So the government officially states that he’s wrongfully detained, yet has not taken the action to get him back. What steps are you taking now? And what ways can people help in this situation? Is there anything our listeners can do?
ANNA: Your listeners can continue praying for Ryan and our family that we will continue hoping and staying strong each day. Also, we have a website, FreeRyanCorbett.com with a lot of information. And now that this current administration is almost finished, we’re needing to focus on the incoming administration and we will have information on the website on how to do that and how people can get the word out. It’s completely unjust and I believe every family out there can empathize with what we’re going through. When one family member is going through a horrible situation, we all feel it constantly. And until Ryan’s home, we cannot rest or even enjoy the opportunities we have in our freedom here in the States because Ryan’s still being held and has only access to sunlight a couple times a day and has no choices and is missing so much in his family’s life.
JOHN: If you could deliver a direct message to Donald Trump as he’s set to return to the White House this week, what would that be?
ANNA: I would say to him, please remember Ryan, and please do everything you can to bring Ryan home. And I would ask the incoming administration, including incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz that I’ve spoken with, and others involved in roles to bring Ryan home, to prioritize our family. Also, George [Glezmann] is held with Ryan. He’s in the same cell, same situation, wrongfully detained, and his family needs him as well. So, there are U.S. citizens who are alive —there’s proof of life. We just spoke to Ryan on Sunday, and they need to come home.
JOHN: Well, our prayers are with your husband, Ryan, and with George Glezmann – and your talk with Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is encouraging. Thank you so much for talking with us.
ANNA: Thanks for having me, I really appreciate it.
JOHN: That was Anna Corbett, wife of Ryan Corbett – and this has been a special Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
***
