A federal jury found former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro guilty of charges that he ignored calls from the House Jan. 6 committee to produce documents and testimony.
After nearly four hours of deliberation, the jury found Navarro guilty on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress.
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Prosecutors charged Navarro with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for what federal prosecutors argue was a defiance of the congressional panel’s pursuit of evidence over his knowledge and involvement in former President Donald Trump‘s bid to subvert the 2020 election results. Each charge carries a maximum of one year in prison.
“So today’s ‘Judgment Day,’” Navarro told reporters before walking into the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where a jury decided on his fate on Thursday.
Throughout the trial, Navarro contended that Trump told him to ignore the committee’s Feb. 9, 2022 subpoena and assert executive privilege, remaining confident that he would have immunity from cooperating with the now defunct committee.
Ahead of jury selection, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled this week that legal precedent contradicted Navarro’s assertion that executive privilege gave him room to ignore the request from the committee. The judge said Navarro didn’t present convincing evidence that Trump did assert the privilege, going as far as calling it “weak sauce.”
Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Aloi said during closing arguments Thursday that Navarro’s subpoena was “not hard to understand,” adding it instructed “what he was required to do and when he was required to do it.”
Navarro’s lawyer Stanley Woodward argued that the subpoena was more complex than what the prosecution claimed. He also said that they’d failed to show Navarro was willful in his failure to comply with the subpoena, saying the government didn’t adequately show his noncompliance was the result of an accident or mistake.
Committee staffers have said the reason for subpoenaing Navarro was to understand his pivot from serving as Trump’s trade adviser to his focus on alleged widespread voter fraud after the 2020 election.
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Navarro went on television several times and made claims to have evidence of election fraud that would warrant altering the outcome of the 2020 election. He even claimed to have a strategy known as the “Green Bay Sweep,” which was the idea of congressional Republicans delaying certification of Joe Biden’s victory, and asserted that he had around 100 lawmakers in support of the plan.
Navarro’s jury verdict marks the second former aid to Trump who’s been prosecuted for failing to cooperate with the committee. Steve Bannon was convicted last year on two contempt counts and has avoided his four-month prison sentence for now, pending appeal.
