Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to President Donald J. Trump, actively worked alongside other senior aides to ensure Trump’s stay in power for a second term following the 2020 election. Despite being subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the January 6th riot, Navarro refused to comply, claiming that Trump had ordered him not to cooperate and dismissing the subpoena as illegal and unenforceable. After a year of legal battles, 74-year-old Navarro will now defend his claims in a trial set to begin on Tuesday at the Federal District Court in Washington.
The trial centers around whether Navarro showed contempt for Congress by defying the House committee’s request for documents and testimony. If convicted on the two counts of contempt of Congress, Navarro could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000 for each count.
Since his indictment in June last year, Navarro has asserted protection under Trump’s claim of executive privilege. However, prosecutors argue that Navarro refused on his own accord, and neither Trump nor his lawyers have confirmed whether they approved Navarro’s actions. The judge in the case, Amit P. Mehta, has already ruled against Navarro’s reliance on executive privilege as a defense, stating that Navarro failed to provide compelling evidence of discussions with Trump regarding his response to Congress.
Describing Navarro’s defense as weak, Judge Mehta emphasized the absence of any written communications or confirmation from the former president. Outside of the court, Navarro continues to portray the case as a fundamental dispute between the legislative and executive branches, labeling the executive privilege issue as an open question in law and vowing to appeal.
Navarro is one of two Trump aides facing criminal charges following the House committee’s investigation. Stephen K. Bannon, another senior adviser to Trump, was convicted last summer on two counts of contempt of Congress and received a four-month prison sentence.
After the 2020 election, Bannon and Navarro devised a plan called the Green Bay Sweep, which aimed to delay the certification of election results by persuading Republican lawmakers to challenge the outcomes in swing states. When the House committee issued a subpoena, Bannon also refused to comply.
In contrast, others in Trump’s inner circle took less combative approaches to resist the panel’s efforts. Roger J. Stone Jr. and Michael T. Flynn, two of Trump’s advisers, ultimately appeared before the committee but invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination to avoid answering most questions. Trump’s final chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and his deputy, Dan Scavino, negotiated the terms of their responses to subpoenas, providing documents but no testimony. None of these four individuals faced criminal charges.
The charges against Navarro were seen as a demonstration of the Justice Department’s willingness to take aggressive action against one of Trump’s top allies as the House investigated the actions of the former president and his advisers in relation to the events leading up to and during the Capitol attack.
The trial may also shed light on Navarro’s communications with the White House during crucial moments in Trump’s final days in power. One potential defense witness is Liz Harrington, a communication aide for Trump who propagated false claims of election irregularities after the 2020 election. While originally scheduled to testify about Navarro’s claims of executive privilege, Harrington might now provide written testimony regarding the extent of Navarro’s contact with Trump and his aides.
Contributing reporting by Alan Feuer.
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