Trump adviser Peter Navarro found him guilty of contempt of Congress for defying the Jan. 6 subpoena
- Navarro now faces up to a year in prison for refusing to comply with the congressional subpoena
- U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the executive privilege argument did not apply to Navarro
President Donald Trump’s former adviser Peter Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress after failing to comply with a House committee subpoena on Jan. 6.
Navarro was Trump’s White House trade adviser and promoted the former president’s claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election.
The verdict came on Thursday after a short trial. Navarro faces up to a year in prison and a minimum of 30 days.
The House January 6 Committee, which concluded its work in January, had issued a subpoena for documents and a deposition.
Navarro’s lawyers maintained that he was not ignoring the congressional panel and had asked them to contact the Trump administration to determine whether the information they sought would have covered him under executive privilege.
But prosecutors said he acted “above the law” by failing to comply with the subpoena.
Peter Navarro, former Trump White House trade adviser, arrives after lunch at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Washington on Thursday, September 7
Peter Navarro, adviser to former US President Donald Trump, returns from a break during his trial on contempt of Congress charges
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the executive privilege argument did not apply to Navarro.
Navarro is the second Trump adviser to be charged with contempt of Congress.
Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was convicted on two counts in 2022. He was subsequently sentenced to four months in prison, but has not yet served his sentence as he appealed the decision.
The House special committee investigating the attack on the Capitol called on the Justice Department to file at least three criminal charges against Donald Trump.
In a series of high-profile hearings last year, the committee argued that Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to return election results to the states in an attempt to overturn the election results.
Trump is facing multiple lawsuits related to his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He has denied wrongdoing and said he acted within the law.
Last month, he was indicted along with 18 co-defendants in Georgia for allegedly running a conspiracy ring to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state.
He was indicted in a separate federal trial in Washington, D.C. earlier this summer over his alleged interference with the 2020 election.
Trump is also being charged in Manhattan with campaign finance violations related to alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
He also faces federal charges of mishandling classified documents.