According to sources familiar with her case, the U.S. government now considers her to be wrongly imprisoned by the Russian government.
The officials and other sources who are close to the case refused to say what led to the shift or what it would take to get her out.
The change in official designation means that the U.S. government will seek to negotiate her return from Russia. It also means that the family will allow the other players and supporters in Congress to bring as much attention to her case as they want.
A source close to Griner said that they feel good about it, but that they don't want to get their hopes too high.
A source close to the case confirmed Monday that Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, agreed to work on the case last week. Richardson's involvement would be a crucial sign that her case has moved into a new realm.
The State Department advised the personal team to keep a low profile so as not to make her a more valuable asset to the government.
A State Department official said that the Russian Federation has wrongly imprisoned a U.S. citizen. The Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens will lead the team for securing the release of the basketball player.
The official said that is not the case and that it is a different legal classification than wrongful detainee.
According to sources close to her, she was not told why she was reclassified, but that her case was moved to the special envoy's office.
The case of her was handled by the consular office, which monitors the cases of any American being held abroad without necessarily intervening. The State Department notified congressional committees of the change.
The release of a former U.S. Marine who had been held in Russia for over a year made the team optimistic about her fate.
Reed was swapped for a Russian citizen who had been convicted of drug dealing. Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there is still an open diplomatic channel between the U.S. and Russian officials.
Richardson was involved in securing Reed's release. The American, Paul Whelan, has been in Russian custody for more than two years.
The Russian basketball player was arrested at a Moscow-area airport in February while entering the country. Russian prosecutors said that she brought a product that contained drugs.
She is scheduled to have a hearing on May 19. The fact that the U.S. considers her to be a wrongful prisoner does not mean that Russia will change its stance on her, but it does mean that the legal proceedings are irrelevant to her case.
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