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He should have consular access within 72 hours of his arrest. he was arrested on december 28 but the u.s. didn't know about it for several days. the big question is will they finally get access and we can learn more about what it is the russians are accusing him of. if, in fact, he is charged and convicted with an espionage operation, that holds up to two decades in prison in russia. his family is denying that he would have been involved in anything like that, but is acknowledging that he has spent time in russia, that he has some command of the language. so the details are still pretty unclea...

Former marine who was arrested in moscow on friday. russia claims paul whelan was apprehended during an espionage operation and he faces up to 20 years in prison for spying. paul brother david says he was just visiting russia for a wedding and insists his brother is innocent. >> there is no way that paul is a spy. he definitely wouldn't do anything to break the laws, and i can't imagine that he would have broken spy laws in any country, let alone in russia. >> nbc's national security and military reporter courtney cuba joins us live. courtney, tell us what the russians are accusing him of doin...

Wedding. we have the latest details with david. >> paul wheland's family says this is a complete misstanding and this could be -- he could be in danger. the family is pleading to get him home safely. wheland is retired from the military and was in russia for a wedding, no kind of espionage operation. we know that russian authorities took him in custody on friday. a state department spokesperson says the russian ministry of foreign affairs has formally notified the department of state that international law requires russian grant u.s. officials access to him. state department officials have req...

>> molly: the brother of an american citizen arrested in russia on espionage charges says he is innocent as was in moscow to attend a wedding. paul whalen was arrested in russia on friday. the russian security service said he was caught during an espionage operation. the spying charges could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. the state department said it has received formal notification of arrest and is pushing for consul ar access to whalen. >> leland: the russian who was arrested a couple of months ago just pled out and thou protests too much. vladimir putin a couple days ago on one ...

Paul weeland was arrested friday. the state department said they got formal notification of his arrest. david, what is going on here? >> hi, blake. a lot going on here. kremlin officials are not backing away from their claim that paul weeland is being detained for spying. his family is pleading to get him home safely. 48-year-old weeland, a retired marine. he was in russia for a wedding, not any kind of espionage operation. we know that russian authorities took him into custody friday. a state department spoke person said the russian ministry of foreign affairs has formally notified the u.s. o...