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On Thursday, September 7, 2023, political figure and former trade advisor to Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, was convicted of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress. According to CNN, Navarro reportedly refused to cooperate with the House Select Committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In official terms, contempt of Congress is when an individual consciously obstructs the work of a committee. As per prosecutors, the congressional investigation filed a subpoena to discuss the circumstances behind the attack with Navarro. However, the 74-year-old Trump aide reportedly ignored them.
As per NBC, Peter Navarro could face up to two years in prison for the charges. In an official statement, the political figure said:
“I am willing to go to prison to settle this issue, I’m willing to do that. But I also know that the likelihood of me going to prison is relatively small because we are right on this issue.”
Navarro is one of several Trump aides who have been indicted in connection to the attack on the Capitol building. The attack was allegedly part of Donald Trump’s supposed plan to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden.
"He had to comply with the subpoena no matter what": The Attorney General condemns the actions of Peter Navarro
As reported by Reuters, Peter Navarro primarily functioned as a trade advisor under the Trump administration. According to the House panel that investigated the attack on the US Capitol, Donald Trump used various means to attempt to overturn the 2020 Presidential election results, such as voter manipulation and alleged sedition.
By the time the alleged crimes took place, Navarro was already considered a close associate of the former President. Forbes reported that the 74-year-old was directly involved in spreading misinformation that the Biden administration had faked manipulated election results.
As per The Washington Post, Navarro would also back up his claims of Biden's alleged election fraud using several news sources that were considered partisan or unreliable, such as One America News Network.
On February 9, 2022, the House Select Committee ordered Peter Navarro to testify in relation to the allegations against Trump. The New York Times claimed that Navarro refused, supposedly arguing that he had executive privilege courtesy of Trump. On April 6, 2022, the House of Representatives voted to charge Navarro with contempt for ignoring the subpoena.
In the closing arguments, US attorney Elizabeth Aloi spoke up on Navarro's actions.
“Peter Navarro made a choice. He chose not to comply with the congressional subpoena. Our government only works when people play by the rules,” Aloi said.
“We are a nation of laws and our system does not work if people think they are above the law. If people like the defendant can choose to ignore the government’s subpoenas, the work of our government to serve its people cannot get done,” she added.
As per Time Magazine, almost 20 close associates of Donald Trump have been indicted in connection to his alleged attempt to manipulate the election results. NPR reported that the Capitol riot, which is considered to be one phase in the broader conspiracy, led to approximately 1,000 people facing criminal charges.
Peter Navarro's defense team speaks out
As reported by the Associated Press, Peter Navarro’s defense continued to claim that the 74-year-old did not intentionally ignore the subpoena.
Defense attorney Stanley Woodward claimed that when the political figure was informed of the order by the committee, he told them to speak to Trump about the ‘executive privilege’ the former President supposedly offered him. The defense argued that Navarro was not to blame since the committee members never reached out to Trump about the details.
Discussing the supposed lack of evidence in the case, Navarro said:
“It’s like one of those movies where you get nothing after the preview."
In response, prosecutor John Crabb argued there was no legal weight to Woodward's argument.
“It wasn’t voluntary. It wasn’t an invitation. A subpoena is a legal requirement. We are a nation of laws and our system doesn’t work if people believe they are above the law,” Crabb said.
In response to the court’s decision to convict him, Navarro expressed that he planned to appeal the decision. The former aide’s sentencing date has been scheduled for January 12, 2024.
