Former Trump Trade Adviser Peter Navarro Found Guilty of Contempt for Defying Subpoena in Capitol Attack Investigation

Washington. Former trade adviser to the president of the United States Joined, Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, was found guilty Thursday of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol.

A 12-member jury found Navarro guilty of two counts of contempt after he refused to testify or turn over documents to the Democratic-led House panel investigating the January 6, 2021 riots by Trump supporters and the broader attempts by the Republican leader to reverse his 2020 election defeat.

“The defendant chose loyalty to former President Trump over compliance with the subpoena,” US Attorney Elizabeth Aloi told jurors during closing arguments Thursday. “That’s contempt. That’s a crime.” The charges carry a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail.

Navarro is a China policy hawk who advised Trump on trade issues and was also part of the covid-19 task force. He is the second close associate of the former president to be convicted of contempt for the committee after Steve Bannon was found guilty last year. Bannon has appealed the conviction.

The verdict in Navarro’s case in federal court in Washington came after a trial that featured a single day of testimony from three prosecution witnesses, former committee staffers. The defense did not call any witnesses or present any evidence.

Navarro said before trial that he did not have to comply with the committee’s demand because Trump invoked executive privilege, a legal doctrine that protects some executive branch records and communications from disclosure.

But US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that he could not use that as a defense, finding that the defendant had not presented evidence that Trump formally invoked that privilege in response to the subpoena.

Defense attorney Stanley Woodward argued that the breach may have been an accident or mistake. Navarro had publicly said that he was protecting the presidency by not sharing information with Congress.

Many of the committee’s findings were reflected in a federal criminal indictment obtained by special counsel Jack Smith that accuses Trump of attempting to subvert election results, one of four criminal cases he faces in his race to win back the presidency in 2024.

2023-09-08 01:57:57
#Trump #adviser #guilty #defying #congressional #subpoena