In a recent development, Peter Navarro, a former White House trade adviser under President Donald Trump, has been found guilty of contempt of Congress charges. This verdict comes in relation to his refusal to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Navarro, who later promoted baseless claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election, became the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress charges, following former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who was previously convicted.

Navarro has announced his intention to appeal the verdict, asserting that the die was cast when a judge ruled that he couldn’t argue against the charges by invoking executive privilege on behalf of Trump. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta determined that Navarro lacked sufficient evidence to prove that Trump had invoked executive privilege.

“This is a landmark case that’s bound for the Supreme Court,” Navarro declared, with his defense attorney, John Rowley, echoing this sentiment.

Navarro’s sentencing is scheduled for January 12, and he faces two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress, each punishable by up to a year behind bars.

The verdict followed a four-hour jury deliberation, during which defense attorney Stanley Woodward requested a mistrial, citing concerns about the jurors’ activities during a break. Mehta indicated that he would consider written arguments on this issue.

Prosecutors argued that Navarro behaved as if he were “above the law” when he defied a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee. In contrast, Navarro’s defense asserted that he did not purposely ignore the committee but instead sought to involve Trump in determining what might be protected by executive privilege.

The House Jan. 6 committee concluded its work with a report stating that Trump criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the 2020 election’s lawful results and failed to act to prevent the attack on the Capitol.

Meanwhile, Trump himself faces federal and state indictments over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, maintaining his denial of wrongdoing and claiming he acted within the bounds of the law.

Credit: AP