Trump adviser Peter Navarro was found GUILTY of contempt of Congress for defying January 6 subpoena
- Navarro now faces up to a year in prison for refusing to comply with Congressional subpoenas
- U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the executive privilege argument did not apply to Navarro
Former President Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress after failing to comply with a Jan. 6 House of Representatives subpoena.
Navarro was Trump’s trade adviser at the White House and promoted the former president’s allegations of massive voter fraud in the 2020 election.
The verdict finding him guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress came Thursday after a brief trial. Navarro faces one year and a minimum of 30 days in prison.
The House of Representatives’ Jan. 6 committee — which had completed its work in January — had issued a subpoena for documents and a statement.
Navarro’s lawyers claimed he was not ignoring the congressional panel and had asked them to contact the Trump administration to determine whether the information they were seeking would have covered him under executive privilege.
But prosecutors said he acted “above the law” by failing to comply with the subpoena.
Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro arrives at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Washington after the lunch break, Thursday, September 7
Peter Navarro, adviser to former US President Donald Trump, returns from a break during his trial for contempt of Congressional charges
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the executive privilege argument did not apply to Navarro.
Navarro is the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress charges.
Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was convicted of two offenses in 2022. He was subsequently sentenced to four months in prison, but has not served time since he appealed the decision.
The Select House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol has urged the Justice Department to bring at least three criminal charges against Donald Trump.
In a series of high-profile hearings last year, the committee argued that Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to return the election results to the states in an effort to reverse the election results.
Trump faces several lawsuits related to his efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election. He has denied wrongdoing and said he acted within the law.
Last month, he was indicted along with 18 co-defendants in Georgia for allegedly leading a conspiracy ring to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state.
He was charged earlier this summer in a separate federal case in Washington, D.C., related to his alleged obstruction of the 2020 election.
Trump also faces charges in Manhattan on campaign finance violations related to alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
He also faces federal charges related to mishandling classified documents.
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