Ex-Trump White House adviser Navarro heads to trial over contempt
charges
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[September 05, 2023]
By Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump adviser Peter
Navarro will head to trial on Tuesday on two misdemeanor counts of
contempt of Congress, after refusing to testify or provide documents to
the U.S. congressional investigation of the attack on the Capitol.
Navarro, a longtime China hawk who advised Republican Trump on trade
issues and also served on the COVID-19 task force, has pleaded not
guilty to the charges.
Jury selection will begin on Tuesday in the trial. It is unclear
precisely when opening statements will take place.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives committee that investigated
the Jan. 6, 2021, attack wanted to ask him about a "Green Bay Sweep"
plan to delay Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's election
victory that Navarro later detailed in a book he wrote after leaving the
White House.
The committee ultimately issued the findings from its investigation in
December 2022 without getting the chance to interview Navarro.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Sep/05/images/ads/current/hopedaleag_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
Earlier this year, Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump criminally
for trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat, which Trump falsely
claims was the result of fraud.
Navarro has maintained that his refusal to testify or provide documents
demanded by a congressional subpoena was sparked by Trump's invocation
of executive privilege, a legal doctrine that shields certain White
House communications from disclosure.
He was not able to get Trump to testify and has only produced one letter
written by Trump's attorney after Navarro's indictment that claimed
Navarro had an obligation to assert privilege.
At a hearing on Aug. 28, Navarro testified that Trump made it "very
clear" he should not testify before Congress in a phone call that took
place 11 days after he received the committee's February 2022 subpoena.
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![](../images/090523PIX/news_m78.jpg)
Peter Navarro, a White House economic
adviser under former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks to
reporters after a pre-trial conference in an attempt to get contempt
of Congress charges against him dismissed at U.S. District Court in
Washington, U.S. August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm/File photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Sep/05/images/ads/current/graue_lda_ENCLAVE3169preowned_081423.jpg)
He said he relayed this message to the committee.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who will preside over the trial,
questioned why Navarro could not articulate precisely what Trump
said on the call.
"I still don’t know what the president said," Mehta said at the Aug.
28 hearing, adding that the evidence in support of Navarro's claims
was "pretty weak sauce."
He ultimately rejected Navarro's request to cite his phone call as
evidence during the trial that Trump invoked privilege, finding
Navarro had failed to provide adequate details about the substance
of the call.
Mehta also found that even if Navarro believed he was immune from
testifying, he still had to appear before the committee in response
to the subpoena.
Each contempt count Navarro faces has the potential to a carry a
minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, as well as a
fine of up to $100,000.
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who left the White House well
before the Jan. 6 attack, was convicted on contempt charges for
defying a congressional subpoena before the same committee in July
2022.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Sep/05/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
He was sentenced to 4 months in prison in October, but his sentence
was stayed pending appeal and has not been resolved.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington;
Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool)
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