Ex-Trump official Peter Navarro’s Jan. 6 contempt trial gets green light — tries to snatch ‘Trump lost’ sign from protester
Former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro snapped at a protester and tried to snatch their “Trump lost” poster Wednesday after a federal judge rejected his bid to forestall a contempt of Congress trial.
Navarro, 74, will face two counts starting Sept. 5 over his refusal to fulfill a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Wednesday that Navarro had failed to meet the burden of proof needed to demonstrate that executive privilege had been invoked to shield him from congressional subpoenas, allowing the trial to move forward.
Executive privilege gives the president the right to keep certain communications confidential.
Navarro claimed that Trump had invoked executive privilege and demanded he not divulge privileged content to the committee, thereby shielding him from subpoena liability.
But Mehta was unconvinced.
“Executive privilege is an extraordinary assertion of power, not to be lightly invoked,” the judge said, according to NBC News.
“Even if there aren’t magic words,” Mehta argued there should be “some words” or an indication from Trump that Navarro was covered by the exemption.
Earlier this year, an attorney for Trump sent a letter to Navarro arguing that he “had an obligation to assert executive privilege on his behalf and fully comply with the principles of confidentiality.”
After the hearing, Navarro lamented the price tag of the litigation against him to reporters, and refrained from commenting in detail on the court proceedings.
Standing behind Navarro was a woman waving a sign “Trump lost (and you know it),” jabbing at his trafficking in 2020 election fraud claims.
At one point, a visibly irritated Navarro turned around and attempted to take the sign away, but was unsuccessful.
“Bro, you’re already facing charges,” the woman needled him in response.
During the brief presser, Navarro indicated that he was not concerned about potential bias from the soon-to-be selected Washington, DC jury pool in the case.
In late 2021, Navarro seemingly taunted the Jan. 6 committee, suggesting it wouldn’t dare reach out to him because he had evidence to clear Trump’s name.
“They don’t want any part of me. I exonerate Trump and Bannon,” he told the Daily Beast in 2021.
Ultimately, the panel decided it did want to talk with Navarro about his so-called “Green Bay Sweep” plan to overturn the 2020 election results and any other insider knowledge he may have had.
Navarro has pleaded not guilty to both charges, which accuse him of failing to provide documents and sit for an interview.
At least four Trump administration officials were referred to the Justice Department by the select committee for potential contempt charges: Navarro, former White House strategist Steve Bannon, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino, and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
The DOJ opted to bring charges against Bannon and Navarro, but not Scavino and Meadows.
Bannon was convicted last year of two contempt charges and ordered to serve four months in prison and pay a $6,500 fine. He has since appealed that conviction.
If convicted, Navarro could face somewhere between 30 days and one year behind bars as well as a fine of up to $100,000 per charge.
