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Politics

Judge smacks down Peter Navarro’s petition for a new contempt trial as jail time looms

By
Ryan King
Published Jan. 16, 2024, 5:44 p.m. ET

Former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro was dealt a significant blow Tuesday after a judge smacked down his request for a new trial on contempt charges.

Navarro was found guilty of contempt of Congress last year for defying a subpoena from the House Select Jan. 6 Committee back in 2022.

The 74-year-old had asked the court for a new trial on the premise that a brief break for fresh air the jury took before handing down the verdict may have tainted its decision.

“The jury took an approximately eight-minute outdoor break in John Marshall Park adjacent to the courthouse. Some individuals were in the Park at that time, seemingly prepared to protest January 6-related matters,” US District Judge Amit Mehta wrote about Navarro’s complaint.

But Mehta concluded that there was ultimately no evidence that anyone “directed any words or displayed any signs at them.”

“Defendant not only fails to demonstrate prejudice, he has not shown that any juror was actually exposed to any improper external influence,” Mehta added.

Peter Navarro
Peter Navarro has denied wrongdoing and insisted he was shielded by executive privilege. Getty Images

Navarro blasted the decision.

“Just another quiet day of ‘Put Peter in prison,’ ‘Ashley Babbit Was Murdered’ and ‘Free the J6 prisoners’ signs outside the courtroom as jurors in the middle of deliberations roam free. Nothing to see here,” Navarro told The Post.

Navarro was found guilty in September on two counts of contempt for failing to show up for a deposition and failing to fork over documents.

Just over two years prior, Navarro had 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.

Weeks later, the panel called his bluff and subpoenaed him. He refused on the basis of executive privilege, in which the president, and in some cases those close to him or her, are authorized to withhold information from Congress.

There have been at least four former Trump administration officials were referred to the Justice Department by the select committee for potential contempt charges.

This includes 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.

Peter Navarro
Peter Navarro had concocted the so-called “Green Bay Sweep” plan to make Donald Trump a second-term president despite his 2020 loss. REUTERS

The DOJ brought charges against Bannon and Navarro, but not Scavino and Meadows.

Bannon was convicted in 2022 of two contempt charges and ordered to serve four months in prison and pay a $6,500 fine. He has since appealed that conviction.

Late last year, first son Hunter Biden defied a congressional subpoena for the impeachment probe against his father.

The younger Biden held a press conference outside the Capitol Building but then declined to show up. His legal team demanded the deposition be held in a public setting, which House Republicans refused to do.

Republicans then moved to hold him in contempt, but reportedly put those plans on hold this week amid negotiations for testimony.

Sentencing for Navarro is slated for Jan. 25.

Navarro could face somewhere between 30 days and one year behind bars as well as a fine of up to $100,000 per charge