Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro convicted of contempt of Congress

Peter Navarro, an adviser to Donald Trump during his presidency, was on Thursday found guilty of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from a House of Representatives panel probing the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Navarro, 74, who was director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy under the Trump presidency, was convicted on one count over his refusal to appear for a deposition in front of the select committee, and another count for refusing to produce documents.

The judge has scheduled his sentencing for January 12.

Navarro could face a maximum of two years in jail and fines up to $200,000, U.S. media reported.

He showed no visible reaction when the verdict was read aloud following about five hours of jury deliberations. His lawyer said he would appeal.

“The day that Judge Mehta ruled that I could not use executive privilege as the defense in this case, the die was cast,” Navarro told reporters outside the courthouse.

Navarro said he did not call Trump as a witness because the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination was “fighting four different indictments in three different jurisdictions. We chose not to go there.”

The verdict in federal court in Washington followed a trial with just one day of testimony from three prosecution witnesses, former staff members of the House committee. The defense did not call any witnesses or present any evidence.

He is the former president’s second ex-aide to be prosecuted for his lack of cooperation with the select committee following Steve Bannon, who was convicted last year on two contempt counts and has been on appeal since then.

During closing arguments on Thursday, Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Aloi said the government only works if people play by the rules and are held accountable if they don’t.

Navarro “made a choice” not to comply with a February 2022 subpoena though he knew “what he was required to do and when he was required to do it,” Aloi told the jury.

Navarro’s attorney Stanley Woodward argued that the subpoena did not specify where in the Capitol complex Navarro was supposed to show up and prosecutors failed to prove that Navarro was willful in his failure to comply with the subpoena.

Woodward also said that Navarro told the committee that “his hands were tied” and claimed executive privilege.

“To cite the privilege, he had to do it on a question-by-question basis,” lead prosecutor John Crabb said. “That was made clear to Mr Navarro. He didn’t show up.”

Read more: Former U.S. President Donald Trump indicted for fourth time

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)