Ex-Trump Advisor Peter Navarro Indicted For Contempt Of Congress

Topline

Peter Navarro, a White House trade advisor during the Trump administration, was indicted Friday on contempt of Congress charges for his refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro listens as former President Donald Trump speaks … [+] during a news conference at the White House, on Aug. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

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Key Facts

A federal grand jury indicted Navarro, 76, on one contempt count for his refusal to appear for a deposition, and another count for his refusal to provide documents to the committee, according to the Department of Justice.

The January 6 committee subpoenaed Navarro in February after he published details of a plan to “snatch a stolen election” in his book, In Trump Time, though the committee alleged he “stonewalled” their attempts to contact him.

The House voted to hold Navarro in contempt in April after he failed to appear before the committee.

If convicted of both counts, Navarro faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $200,000.

Navarro was scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon.

A representative for Navarro did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.

Key Background

After Navarro was subpoenaed in February, his legal team contended he could not cooperate with the committee because of former President Donald Trump’s invocation of executive privilege, a legal doctrine that allows presidents to keep some internal communications secret. Navarro wrote in a letter to a separate House committee investigating the Covid-19 pandemic that he considered Trump’s directive to protect executive privilege as “a direct order,” even though he no longer works for Trump. According to the indictment, Navarro emailed the January 6 committee on February 27, saying “my hands are tied” due to Trump’s order. In March, President Joe Biden waived executive privilege for Navarro, but Navarro still did not appear before the committee.

What We Don’t Know

If the Justice Department will pursue charges against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows or Dan Scavino, the former director of social media at the White House. The House of Representatives voted to hold both in contempt in December and in April, respectively, but have not been charged with a crime. The department has received four referrals total from the January 6 committee’s investigation—Navarro, Meadows, Scavino and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who was indicted in November.

What To Watch For

Bannon’s trial on the contempt charges is scheduled to begin on July 18. Bannon has pleaded not guilty.

Tangent

Navarro has also been subpoenaed by a different House committee investigating the federal government’s initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which he has not cooperated with either. In a December letter to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis published by the Washington Post, Navarro said he would not sit for an interview because he “will not be coerced into sitting for a deposition before your Star Chamber.”