2023-09-07 20:53:37
Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser to Trump, has been accused of contempt for Congress for his refusal to testify in the investigation into the attack on the Capitol.
Former US President Donald Trump’s former trade adviser, Peter Navarro, was found guilty on Thursday of contempt of Congress for having disobeyed a subpoena of the House of Representatives committee that investigated the 2021 Capitol attack.
A 12-member jury found Navarro guilty of two counts of contempt following he refused to testify or hand over documents to the Democratic-led House committee. It investigated the January 6, 2021 riot by Trump supporters and the ex-president’s broader attempts to reverse his 2020 election defeat.
“The accused has chose allegiance to former President Trump over compliance with subpoena“, federal prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi told the jurors during closing arguments Thursday. “It is contempt. It’s a crime.”
The charges provide for a minimum sentence of 30 days and a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
Defense attorney Stanley Woodward argued that Navarro’s non-compliance may have been an accident or a mistake.
The second counselor sentenced
Navarro is a China policy “hawk” who advised Trump on trade issues during his presidency and also served on the Covid-19 taskforce. Navarro has become the second close Trump aide to be convicted of contempt to the committee following Steve Bannon for the same reasons. The latter was sentenced to four months in prison and is currently appealing the sentence.
Peter Navarro had stated before the trial that he was not bound to comply with the committee’s request because Trump had invoked executive privilegea legal doctrine that protects certain executive branch documents and communications from disclosure.
However, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Navarro might not use that argument to defend himself, finding he had not presented evidence that Trump had formally invoked executive privilege in response to the subpoena. . Defense attorney Stanley Woodward argued that Navarro’s non-compliance may have been an accident or mistake.
The verdict is a victory for the Justice Department and the Nominating Committee (which no longer exists), which moved aggressively to obtain testimony from many of Trump’s top advisers before the committee was disbanded when Republicans took control of the House in January.
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