Top Dem denies ignoring constituent abducted by Maduro after being lambasted for Abrego Garcia advocacy

Yahoo

24-04-2025

A top Democrat refuted claims she ignored correspondence from a constituent whose son was abducted by Venezuela's military while she was publicly advocating for Salvadoran deportee Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. — who, until Republicans retook the Senate, was third in line to the presidency — told Fox News Digital through a spokesperson on Monday they have no record of correspondence from Scott St. Clair asking for help for his imprisoned son.
"Our office has no record of an inquiry from the St. Clair family; however, our staff is ready and willing to help support the return of Joseph however possible," the Murray spokesperson said, after Fox News Digital asked about comments from St. Clair to KTTH radio host Jason Rantz, wherein the father said he received "nothing" in response from Murray.
"We'll be working to get in touch with the family directly," the Murray spokesperson said, adding constituent service is a "top priority."
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Joseph St. Clair, a four-tour Afghanistan War veteran from Hansville, Washington, first went missing in November while getting PTSD treatment in Colombia.
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In February, his father got a call from the Colombian consulate telling him neighboring Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro's regime had taken him hostage.
As for her Abrego Garcia advocacy, her office said Murray "is also committed to protecting the fundamental right to due process in America — and will not shy away from condemning the Trump administration's dangerous efforts to undermine the rule of law."
On Thursday, Murray retweeted Sen. Chris Van Hollen's, D-Md., photo with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, writing, "We're with you, Senator Van Hollen."
"In America, we don't send people to foreign prisons for life with no trial and no due process. We'll keep fighting. This is about protecting our democracy," she continued.
She also released a video saying the Trump administration "abruptly ripped Garcia off the streets."
"They admitted that this deportation was a mistake. Now the president is trying to pretend that he has no power to bring him back from one of the most horrific prisons in the world. This is un-American. It is immoral. It is illegal. And it needs to stop," Murray said.
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Rantz lambasted Murray's tweet, saying that while she "pretends to care about an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, she's ignoring the father of an American USAF vet who was kidnapped by the Maduro regime in Venezuela."
Another Seattle figure, Discovery Institute's Jonathan Choe, recounted Murray's comments on Abrego Garcia, and then the plight of the St. Claires, remarking on X, "Make it make sense." Several other people slammed the senator on X over the situation, while a hostage aid group reprinted part of Rantz's report on the matter.
Scott St. Clair told Rantz that his son was held alongside several other Americans whom President Donald Trump envoy Ric Grenell was able to bring home during a Jan. 31 meeting with Maduro.
Joseph St. Clair's military credentials originally drew the Venezuelans' attention, his father said.
Another Trump envoy, Adam Boehler, reached out to the family to assist them, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio officially designated Joseph St. Clair "wrongfully detained."
Rantz shared apparent screenshots of Scott St. Clair's purported attempts to contact Murray, before "a senator from another state would agree to intervene." That lawmaker turned out to be Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., to whom Fox News Digital reached out for comment.
Scott St. Clair appeared to reach out to Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., by email, and Murray via Twitter direct message on March 23 after Rubio officially designated his son captive.
In one email from February shared with Rantz, Scott St. Clair wrote that "as a matter of record" he also sent a letter to Murray "via web form" and appeared to include text of the letter in a prior reply that was partially hidden.
He also shared a screenshot of his X direct message to Murray where he shared a "Bring Joe Home" graphic and the message: "I am a Washingtonian and need advocacy to secure the release of our son from captivity in Venezuela. I sent your office an email and received no reply."
Scott St. Clair said he received some response from Cantwell but ultimately pivoted to Schmitt.
"We need all the help we can get. Congress needs to demand that Maduro release our citizens held hostage as political pawns," he wrote to Murray, according to one screenshot viewed by Fox News Digital.
"As a matter of fact, we have been just screaming this story, ever since we found out February 4, to anybody and everybody that will listen to us," Joseph's mother added in a Monday night interview on "Fox News @ Night."
"We do not have our state's backing from congressmen or senators," she said. "Thank God we do have some senators stepping up from other states to help us, but nothing at all from ours."
Scott St. Clair added, "We need the Trump administration, but we need Congress to put this on their voice; to be a megaphone for the fact that this is a real American issue. And we're talking about things often that don't seem like real American issues."
"We would welcome [Murray's] advocacy, yes, but I don't think it's coming," he added.Original article source: Top Dem denies ignoring constituent abducted by Maduro after being lambasted for Abrego Garcia advocacy