Trump White House official Peter Navarro was convicted Thursday of contempt of Congress charges filed after he was accused of refusing to co-operate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Verdict follows short trial for former White House trade adviser
Trump White House official Peter Navarro was convicted Thursday of contempt of Congress charges filed after he was accused of refusing to co-operate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The verdict came after a short trial for Navarro, who served as a White House trade adviser under former U.S. president Donald Trump and later promoted the baseless claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election that Trump lost.
Navarro was the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress charges after former White House adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon was convicted of two counts and was sentenced to four months behind bars, though he has been free pending appeal.
Prosecutors said Navarro acted as if he were “above the law” when he defied a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 committee. He was charged with two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress, both punishable by up to a year behind bars.
A defence attorney argued Navarro didn’t ignore the congressional subpoena but instead told committee staffers to contact Trump about what material might be covered by executive privilege, something they did not do.