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Politics

Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro should get 6 months in prison for defying House Jan. 6 committee subpoena, DOJ says

By
David Propper
Published Jan. 19, 2024, 3:05 a.m. ET

Federal prosecutors want ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro to go to jail for six months for choosing “allegiance to former President Donald Trump over the rule of law” when he defied a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 select committee.

Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Aloi made the argument in a sentencing memo filed Thursday night and obtained by Politico.

Navarro was convicted in September of two misdemeanor contempt of Congress charges and his sentencing is set for next week.

Aloi argued that Navarro “thumbed his nose at Congressional authority and refused to comply” when he was served with a subpoena from the House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

“He cloaked his bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt behind baseless, unfounded invocations of executive privilege and immunity that could not and would never apply to his situation,” the memo states.

Peter Navarro speaks to reporters after attending a status hearing in his contempt of Congress trial for refusing to cooperate with the House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Peter Navarro speaks to reporters after attending a hearing in his contempt of Congress trial for refusing to cooperate with the HOP committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. REUTERS

“… the Defendant, like the rioters at the Capitol, put politics, not country, first, and stonewalled Congress’s investigation,” the memo also states. “The Defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over the rule of law even after being apprised that executive privilege would not excuse his default.”

On top of the six months in lock-up, Navarro should be ordered to pay a $200,000 fine, the feds argued.

The former Trump aide attempted to launch a defense focused on claiming executive privilege had been invoked by the 45th president that would shield him from the subpoena, but US District Judge Amit Mehta turned that argument down last year during his trial.

The former Trump aide attempted to initiate a defense on claiming executive privilege had been invoked by the 45th president that would shield him from the subpoena.
The former Trump aide attempted to initiate a defense on claiming executive privilege had been invoked by the 45th president that would shield him from the subpoena. AP

Because Mehta rejected that possible defense, Navarro said after his conviction he wasn’t surprised by the verdict.

Navarro’s lawyers argued in their sentencing memo complex laws and precedents around executive privilege for White House advisors should lead to a lenient sentence of at most six months of probation on each count, Politico reported.

“Dr. Navarro’s actions do not stem from a disrespect for the law, nor do they stem from any belief that he is above the law,” his lawyers insisted in the memo.

Lawyers for Peter Navarro argued laws and precedents around executive privilege for White House advisors should lead to a lenient sentence of probation on each count, Politico reported.
Lawyers for Peter Navarro argued laws and precedents around executive privilege for White House advisors should lead to a lenient sentence of probation on each count, Politico reported. AFP via Getty Images

“Rather, Dr. Navarro acted because he reasonably believed he was duty-bound to assert executive privilege on former President Trump’s behalf.”

Navarro was the second Trump aide to face charges after refusing to appear in front of Congress. Ex-White House advisor Steve Bannon was convicted of two counts and sentenced to four months in prison, but he is free for now pending appeal.

Other former Trump White House officials, ex-Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, were referred to the DOJ for potential contempt charges, though they ultimately didn’t face charges.