Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro on Friday filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to remain out of prison as he works to overturn his conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress.
Navarro was ordered on Monday to report to prison in Miami on March 19, to serve a four-month sentence.
He was convinced in September of two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to provide testimony and documents to the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In his filing to the Supreme Court, Navarro’s attorney Stanley Woodward argued that Navarro “is indisputably neither a flight risk nor a danger to public safety should he be released pending appeal.”
In testimony during Navarro’s trial, former Jan. 6 committee staff director David Buckley said the House panel had been seeking to question Navarro about efforts to delay Congress’ certification of the 2020 election, a plan Navarro dubbed the “Green Bay Sweep” in his book, “In Trump Time.”
Peter Navarro, former President Donald Trump’s trade adviser, addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual meeting in National Harbor, Md., Feb. 24, 2024.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Navarro unsuccessfully argued that former President Donald Trump had asserted executive privilege over his testimony and document production.
“For the first time in our nation’s history, a senior presidential advisor has been convicted of contempt of Congress after asserting executive privilege over a congressional subpoena,” Woodward’s filing said. “Dr. Navarro has appealed and will raise a number of issues on appeal that he contends are likely to result in the reversal of his conviction, or a new trial.”
Navarro would become the first former Trump adviser to report to prison for actions related to the Jan. 6 attack.
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro is seeking an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court in an effort to prevent serving a prison sentence for contempt of Congress. Navarro was found guilty of defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riot.
Navarro, who served as an economic adviser to former President Donald Trump, has been at the center of controversy surrounding the events leading up to and following the Capitol riot. The committee had requested Navarro’s testimony and documents related to his role in promoting false claims of election fraud that ultimately fueled the violence on January 6th.
Despite being ordered by a federal judge to comply with the subpoena, Navarro refused to cooperate with the committee’s investigation. This led to his contempt of Congress charge and subsequent sentencing to 30 days in prison.
Navarro’s legal team is now seeking an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that his First Amendment rights are being violated by being forced to testify against his will. They are also claiming that the committee’s investigation is politically motivated and biased against Trump allies.
The case has raised questions about the limits of congressional subpoena power and the extent to which individuals can be compelled to testify in investigations. It also highlights the ongoing tensions between Trump loyalists and those seeking accountability for the events of January 6th.
The Supreme Court has not yet indicated whether they will hear Navarro’s appeal, but the case is likely to continue to garner attention as it raises important legal and constitutional issues. In the meantime, Navarro remains free pending the outcome of his appeal, but the specter of a prison sentence looms large over his future.
