Peter Navarro, a former trade advisor to former President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday to four months in jail for contempt of Congress after defying a Jan. 6 subpoena.
Navarro was sentenced to four months in jail and ordered to pay a fine of $9,500.00, according to breaking reports.
Peter Navarro has been sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $9500. Via @lauraromero1207
— Will Steakin (@wsteaks) January 25, 2024
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse prior to his sentencing, Navarro said his case “has turned out to be a very important, landmark constitutional case that is going to resolve important issues about the constitutional separation of powers as well as the integrity, efficiency, of presidents and decision making.”
“U.S. versus Peter Navarro has turned out to be a very important, landmark constitutional case that is going to resolve important issues about the constitutional separation of powers…”
— Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro arrives for sentencing in his contempt of Congress case pic.twitter.com/bNzfFyMzRF
— The Recount (@therecount) January 25, 2024
U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta said the phrase “executive privilege” is not a “magical incantation” or a “get out of jail free card” to defy a subpoena, according to NBC News.
“What I find disappointing is that in all of this, even today, there’s little acknowledgement of what your obligation is as an American – to cooperate with Congress, to provide them with information that they’re seeking,” Mehta reportedly said. “Fine, you think it’s a political hatchet job, it’s domestic terrorists running the committee. They had a job to do and you made it harder. It’s really that simple.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) previously argued that Navarro should face six months in jail and pay a $200,000 fine for failing to comply with the subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. Prosecutors alleged Navarro “exacerbated” the “assault” on the rule of law by defying the subpoena, stating his “defiance and contempt deserves severe punishment.”
Navarro was indicted in June of 2022 after declining to testify during his deposition and did not produce documents requested by the select committee.
Six months was the harshest sentencing range for contempt of Congress. News of the DOJ’s push to jail Navarro for six months came just as Hunter Biden decided he would sit before Congress and testify after previously defying a subpoena. House Republicans had threatened to hold Hunter in contempt of Congress, with Majority Leader Steve Scalise saying the House would vote on the matter. Hunter then agreed to sit for a closed-door deposition on Feb. 28.
Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was convicted in October of 2022 after also defying a subpoena related to the Jan. 6 investigation. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison but has appealed the ruling.