Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro has been convicted of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee in relation to an investigation into January 6, 2021.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta previously ruled against Navarro’s executive privilege argument, claiming that enough evidence was not shown to prove that Trump invoked such measures. Navarro’s conviction makes him the second Trump aide to be convicted on contempt charges after not cooperating with the House Select Committee. (RELATED: Judge Adopts Trump’s Protective Order Proposal, With Restrictions)
Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was convicted in October 2022 after defying a subpoena related to the January 6, 2021 investigation. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison.
Former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro has been convicted of contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena from the House January 6 committee.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 7, 2023
Navarro was convicted on two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress which each are punishable with up to a year in prison. Mehta scheduled Navarro’s sentencing for January 2024.
Prosecutors argued that Navarro could have handed over the documents that were requested by the House Select Committee and highlighted what documents he believed were protected under executive privilege.
“Peter Navarro made a choice. He chose not abide by the congressional subpoena,” prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi said during the trial, according to The Associated Press. “The defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over compliance to the subpoena.”