White House nixed visit with freed Venezuela detainee Joseph St. Clair over outstanding arrest warrants
Joseph St. Clair, 32, an Afghanistan war veteran who had been held in the South American country since this past November, has a record in his home state of Texas, the Ellis County Sheriff's Office confirmed Tuesday.
Joseph St. Clair, left, and special envoy Ric Grenell en route to the US May 20.
Richard Grenell via REUTERS
St. Clair, of Austin, was arrested in June 2023 on three counts of drug possession, resisting arrest, and driving while intoxicated. A little more than a year later, in July 2024, St. Clair was booked again on a DWI charge.
A report from the Waxahachie Police Department on the June 2023 incident claimed arresting officers pulled St. Clair over after he was driving erratically on Interstate 35 and reported a white powdery substance on his nose. A search of St. Clair's truck revealed 'at least a dozen' baggies of ketamine or ketamine residue — some of which he admitted to snorting before he left his house — and two vials of anabolic steroids.
The arresting officers noted that St. Clair had also been picked up on a DWI rap in April 2023, a case which was pending at the time of his apprehension.
The request to bring St. Clair to the White House was put in by special envoy Ric Grenell, who flew to the Caribbean island of Antigua on a private jet to pick up the freed American May 20, as The Post reported Friday.
Upon his return to Washington, Grenell asked Trump if he could bring St. Clair by the executive mansion for a celebration, as has been done with other freed US detainees.
The request was initially approved, but was then shut down after the Secret Service learned of St. Clair's criminal history, according to multiple sources.
'He [Grenell] was told no by Secret Service who alerted for White House staff that if this individual were to (come) to the White House, he would be arrested at the gate because of his outstanding warrants,' said one administration official.
'Why the hell would we ever allow that to happen and embarrass the president?'
Joseph St. Clair has a criminal record in his home state of Texas.
Facebook/Joe St.Clair
There is no evidence Grenell was aware of St. Clair's legal trouble. The special envoy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House has yet to release a statement about St. Clair's return — despite just two weeks earlier highlighting four other Americans released from overseas captivity since Trump took office Jan. 20.
Grenell's trip to fetch St. Clair caught many in the administration by surprise, with one informed source saying last week the envoy had 'blindsided the president and the White House.'
A second administration official said Tuesday that Grenell briefly informed Trump of his plan to bring back St. Clair, but confirmed that the White House and State Department were unaware of any travel plans.
'There is a process, protocol and chain of command, especially in the context of high-stakes diplomacy,' a source close to the administration warned. 'Intentionally bypassing the secretary of state, blindsiding the White House and misleading the president isn't just reckless, it's damaging.
'No one gets to play pretend for the job they wanted. You must execute in good faith within the role you're actually in.'
On the same day Grenell retrieved St. Clair, he claimed on former White House strategist Steve Bannon's 'War Room' podcast that Trump would extend a May 27 deadline for Chevron to leave Venezuela by an additional 60 days after Maduro showed willingness to work with the White House by releasing St. Clair.
Chevron was instead offered a license to keep up essential maintenance on its $7 billion worth of equipment in Venezuela, but it will not be allowed to use the equipment to pump oil for sale.
Trump is also keeping in place 25% tariffs on any country that imports Venezuelan oil.
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