The Jan. 6 House of Representatives committee voted unanimously Monday night to condemn Trump insiders Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro as contempt of Congress.
Now the vote goes to the full House of Representatives, where it is expected to be passed with a majority of Democrats and then referred to the Justice Department.
All nine members of the committee agreed after setting out why Navarro, a Trump White House trade adviser, and Scavino, who continues to direct the ex-president’s social media activities, had to testify for the Jan. 6 investigation Attack on the Capitol.
The committee wants them to testify because they both helped in former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, lawmakers said.
“In short, these two men played key roles in the ex-president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election,” Chairman Bennie Thompson said at the start of the hour-long session to set out the reasons for the duo’s holding of contempt congress.
“In the case of Mr. Scavino, he stalled us for months before making it clear that he believed he was above the law,” the chairman continued. ‘Mister. Although Navarro has shared relevant details on TV, podcasts and in his own book, he also blocked us out,” Thompson added.
“You’re not kidding,” Thompson said. “You have an obligation to comply with our investigation. You have refused to do so. And that is a crime.”
Both Navarro and Scavino were previously subpoenaed by the committee, with Navarro skipping a scheduled virtual hearing on March 2.
“Why are we getting closer and closer to the former president? His inner circle. Those closest to the President. Why are these the ones who refuse to tell the American people what they know? What are they covering up?” asked Rep. Elaine Luria, a Virginia Democrat, before voting yes Monday night.
Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (left) and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney (right) appear Monday night for a hearing to allow the panel to vote on whether to hold Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress
The Jan. 6 committee of the House of Representatives voted Monday to hold Trump insiders Dan Scavino (left) and Peter Navarro (right) in contempt of Congress, with all committee members voting in favour
Navarro told CNN he did not attend because former President Donald Trump claimed executive branch privilege.
“My hands are tied on this matter as I cannot waive executive privilege asserted by President Trump,” Navarro told the network. “The committee is required by law to discuss this matter directly with Trump and his attorneys before attempting to coerce and harass me into cooperating with their highly partisan efforts. If the President renounces privileges, I will appear.’
Two days before Navarro played Hook, President Joe Biden’s White House told the former Trump aide that Biden would not invoke executive privilege to protect him from testifying, CNN said.
‘Mister. Biden is not the president I worked for. Donald Trump is,” Navarro reportedly replied to the Office of the White House Attorney.
At Monday night’s hearing, committee members tore down Navarro’s claim to privileges.
“He devoted much of his time to White House policy efforts outside of the framework of his official duties. In fact, the American people probably only know Mr. Navarro in his political capacity,” Rep. Pete Aguilar noted of Navarro’s frequent television appearances, noting that a federal guard found him to have violated the Hatch Act.
Democratic Committee members Jamie Raskin (left) and Elaine Luria (right) set out their arguments why Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro should be held on contempt of Congress charges for refusing to testify before the House Special Committee on Jan. 6 to speak
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two members of the GOP committee, attended Monday night’s hearing virtually
Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar (left), Adam Schiff (center) and Zoe Lofgren (right) appear Monday night at the committee’s Jan. 6 business meeting where they voted to hold two top Trump allies in defiance of Congress
In the Feb. 9 announcement of Navarro’s subpoena, Thompson said his account was being sought by the committee because the aide was open about wanting to delay confirmation of Biden’s election.
“He hasn’t been shy about his role in efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election and has even discussed the former president’s support for those plans,” Thompson said.
The letter to Navarro notes how he “reportedly worked with Steve Bannon and others to develop and implement a plan to delay congressional confirmation of the November 2020 presidential election and ultimately change the outcome.”
He even outlined their plans in his book In Trump Time, calling the scheme the Green Bay Sweep.
Rep. Jamie Raskin commented at Monday night’s hearing that the name was “an insult to the Green Bay Packers across the country.”
The plan called for Republican congressmen to protest the vote count of the Swing States Electoral College during the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress.
Since each appeal must be discussed by lawmakers, there is hope that the delay would force state legislatures in swing states Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Nevada to roll back the election results.
The intended result was that Trump would have more certified electoral college votes than race winner Biden.
Members of the Jan. 6 House Select Committee voted Monday night to hold Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress. Now the entire House of Representatives will vote on it
In an interview, Navarro said Trump is “on board with strategy,” as are “more than 100” members of Congress, the Jan. 6 committee said.
A total of 147 Republicans in Congress voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Scavino was subpoenaed in September along with three others who the committee said were “connected to the former president in the days surrounding Jan. 6.”
Scavino was originally scheduled to be dropped on October 15.
The committee’s letter to Scavino accused him of dating Trump as the ex-president pondered how to pressure members of Congress to object to Biden’s election.
The letter also notes that Scavino was with Trump on Jan. 6 – and said the aide “may have materials relating to his video recordings and tweet messages” that day.
“The committee has many questions from Mr. Scavino regarding this political social media work for President Trump, including his interactions with an online forum called The Donald and with QAnon, a bizarre and dangerous cult,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, the deputy Republican chairwoman of the committee said during Monday night’s negotiations.
Cheney also made a more important point about how the committee’s work protects democracy.
“As we meet here tonight, Vladimir Putin continues his brutality against Ukraine, killing innocents and reminding us what happens when authoritarian rulers rule,” Cheney said.
So far, the January 6 committee has tabled three more referrals.
In November, Trump’s former White House strategist Steve Bannon was indicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a Jan. 6 committee subpoena.
This process is scheduled to take place this summer.
In January, the House voted to detain former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in defiance of Congress and referred the matter to the Justice Department.
A third referral was for Justice Department Attorney Jeffrey Clark, who advanced from the committee but was not elected by the full House of Representatives after Clark agreed to meet with committee members.
During that meeting, Clark pleaded for the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times, CNN reported.