Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro talks to the press as he leaves federal court in Washington on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who worked for Donald Trump, has requested the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent him from going to prison while he fights his contempt of Congress conviction.
On Thursday, a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the defendant's request and ordered him to surrender to federal authorities by March 19.
Navarro’s urgent request, sent to Chief Justice John Roberts, criticizes the appellate court’s decision by referring to what his lawyers call “the extraordinary nature” of his conviction.
“Dr. Navarro is the only former senior presidential advisor to be prosecuted for contempt of congress following an assertion of executive privilege by the president that advisor served,” the request states. “To be clear, the District Court found that Dr. Navarro reasonably believed he was obligated to assert executive privilege on behalf of former President Donald Trump and there is no dispute that Dr. Navarro actually asserted executive privilege in response to the congressional subpoena he received.”
The House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol believed Navarro had crucial information relevant to the probe on the events leading up to, during, and after the pro-Trump riots, and they were able to convince a jury.
When Navarro was asked for such records by Congress, he did not comply voluntarily. When facing the threat of subpoena, he did not comply. When finally under subpoena, he also failed to comply.
An attempted executive privilege defense did not succeed. Trump never provided Navarro or the court with evidence that he claimed executive privilege over his former trade specialist.
In September 2023, he was found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress — following a daylong trial and four hours of deliberations.
“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,” the urgent request states. “Dr. Navarro has appealed and will raise several issues on appeal that he believes are likely to result in the reversal of his conviction, or a new trial.”
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In January, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced the 74-year-old to four months in prison and a fine of $9,500 for his stonewalling.
In his application, Navarro says the judge did not allow him to present a full defense while allowing the state something like free reign.
From the stay request, at length (emphasis in original):
Moreover, the district court precluded Dr. Navarro from presenting any evidence in his defense explaining that even though he did in fact default on the congressional subpoena, he felt duty-bound to assert executive (the district court acknowledged that Dr. Navarro at the very least thought he had invoked), while simultaneously allowing the government to summarize its case to the jury as Dr. Navarro’s assertion of executive privilege unequivocally did not excuse him from complying with the subpoena and his failure to do so put him, “above the law.”
During the trial, the defense — reeling from pretrial rulings — did not call any witnesses or present any evidence.
Navarro’s request argues his prosecution — and the failure of his privilege defense — was a historical aberration.
The request to stay the decision says that it's very clear that Congress did not intend to punish senior presidential advisors who refused to comply with a congressional subpoena in good faith, believing they were required to assert executive privilege. The Department of Justice held this position for over four decades before pursuing prosecution of Dr. Navarro.