Former Trump Trade Adviser Peter Navarro to Begin Jail Term for Contempt of Congress
WASHINGTON — Peter Navarro, the former trade adviser to Donald Trump, is set to start a four-month jail term for contempt of congress in federal prison on Tuesday.
Navarro, aged 74, was found guilty last year after defying a subpoena from a House committee investigating the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
A Supreme Court justice rejected his last-minute attempt to avoid prison on Monday. He will be the first official from the Trump administration to be imprisoned for contempt of Congress.
Navarro has until 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT) to report to FCI Miami, a federal prison in Miami where he will serve his sentence. The facility consists of a low-security unit along with a minimum-security camp.
At the end of January, three years after the attack by supporters of former President Trump on Congress, Navarro was handed the jail term and a fine of $9,500 (£7,500).
In addition to his trade advisory role, Navarro was involved in efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election and keep Trump in power.
The individuals who stormed Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, aimed to prevent the certification of Trump’s election loss by lawmakers.
Navarro initially received a subpoena from the US House of Representatives select committee in February 2022 but failed to provide the requested emails and documents.
When contacted by the committee, Navarro cited executive privilege, a legal principle allowing certain White House communications to remain confidential, as per Trump’s instructions.
The judge ruled that Trump’s request for executive privilege was invalid and it did not shield Navarro from the subpoena.
Navarro’s legal team argued that he posed no flight risk or danger to the public and should be allowed to remain free while appealing his conviction. However, the Supreme Court Chief Justice denied the request earlier this week.
In his 2021 memoir titled “In Trump Time,” Navarro claimed to have devised a strategy to contest the election results that led to Joe Biden becoming president.
The strategy involved persuading congressional Republicans to delay the certification of Biden’s electoral victory, a routine process scheduled for Jan. 6, 2021.
The House committee emphasized that Navarro’s allegations of electoral fraud had been consistently debunked by state and local officials.
Another Trump-era official, former campaign strategist Steve Bannon, was also convicted of contempt for defying the committee’s summons and received a four-month jail term. However, Bannon is currently permitted to remain out of prison as his defense team appeals the decision. — BBC
