Former White House economic adviser Peter Navarro was reportedly handcuffed at the airport in Washington, DC, on Friday and “frogmarched” to the federal courthouse after failing to comply with the partisan January 6 Committee.
“The FBI arrested him today, and did put him in handcuffs, Bret Baier reported on Fox News.
Multiple media outlets have confirmed that Navarro was not invited to surrender to the FBI and was taken into custody during an arrest operation.
The January 6 Committee held Navarro in contempt of Congress in March for refusing to congressionally testify. On Thursday, he was indicted and arrested the next day.
Fox News’s John Roberts reported the FBI arrested Navarro, “and cuffed him, and basically frogmarched him into court” in a public display of humiliation. NBC News reported that Navarro was arrested at the airport.
Navarro was arraigned in court Friday afternoon. “The agent who arrested me today had been to my apartment the previous week,” Navarro told the judge. “I actually live right next to the FBI.”
Navarro also revealed he was followed by the FBI to the airport and then arrested. “I was a distinguished public servant for four years. No one ever treated me in this fashion,” Fox News reported Navarro’s comments.
According to Politico, Navarro’s case will be presided over by Judge Amit Mehta, “who is also overseeing two other crucial Jan. 6 cases: The Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial, and the civil litigation against Trump.”
Navarro reportedly told the judge he wants to represent himself in court. “I’ve been representing myself pro se,” Navarro reportedly told the judge, NBC News reported. “I don’t want to spend my retirement savings on lawyers,” Navarro reportedly added.
“Okay, great,” the judge reportedly responded.
The House will convene the first public hearing for the January 6 select committee next week. https://t.co/MDW59U69Kx
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 3, 2022
Breitbart News reported on the broader”witch hunt” surrounding the partisan January 6 Committee:
Navarro is among several witnesses who have sued the committee in federal court, claiming that it is violating the separation of powers by performing a law enforcement function, and that it has violated the terms of its own enabling resolution.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took the unprecedented step of refusing to seat some Republican members of the committee. When House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) withdrew all of his nominees in response, Pelosi hand-picked the committee of seven Democrats and two Republicans, contrary to the eight Democrats and five Republicans that the resolution requires. The committee has no official ranking member, which critics say means its subpoenas are invalid.
Though the Supreme Court has given the committee access to documents over which former President Donald Trump tried to exert executive privilege, critics argue that the privilege still covers other materials, such as conversations with the president.
An August poll shows revealed 58 percent of voters believe the January 6 Committee is biased toward Democrats.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
