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WASHINGTON − Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro has been sentenced to federal prison after the Supreme Court rejected his emergency request to postpone his sentence for contempt of Congress.
Navarro was required to report for detention by 2 p.m. Tuesday in Miami after failing to comply with the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Chief Justice John Roberts affirmed the lower court’s decision denying Navarro’s request to remain free pending his appeal, stating that the matter is separate from the appeal process itself.
Navarro was convicted in September for his refusal to cooperate with the House committee’s requests.
Lower courts rule against Navarro
Navarro claimed he couldn’t comply with the House inquiry due to executive privilege invoked by former President Donald Trump, but U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found no merit in this argument.
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously decided that Navarro had forfeited his chance to make an executive privilege argument and is unlikely to succeed in his appeal.
While arguing for his release pending appeal, Navarro maintained that he is not a flight risk and poses no threat to public safety. He plans to challenge his conviction on grounds including the definition of a “valid” executive privilege claim.
The Justice Department dismissed Navarro’s executive privilege argument, stating that he failed to comply with the committee’s requests for non-privileged communications. Additionally, the department asserted that even if executive privilege applied, the committee’s need for the information outweighed any privilege.
Reasons for Congress to question Navarro
The Jan. 6 committee sought to question Navarro based on his writings in the book “In Trump Time,” where he discussed efforts to delay the certification of President Joe Biden’s election. Navarro referred to this scheme as the “Green Bay Sweep” and claimed it was a strategic move to overturn the election results.
Navarro later confirmed in an interview that Trump was supportive of this strategy, according to the committee.
Similar to Navarro, political strategist Steve Bannon also faced contempt of Congress charges for refusing to cooperate with the committee. Bannon received a four-month sentence, but was allowed to remain free pending his appeal by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols.
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