Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser in the Trump administration, has been ordered to report to federal prison for his four-month sentence, following the Supreme Court’s rejection of his last-ditch appeal. This decision, made by Chief Justice John Roberts, marks the end of Navarro’s attempts to avoid imprisonment while he appealed his conviction for rejecting a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 select committee.
Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and testimony related to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was sentenced in January to four months in prison and a $9,500 fine on two counts of contempt of Congress. This sentence was two months shorter than the six-month prison time that federal Department of Justice prosecutors had requested.
While Navarro has not denied his failure to cooperate with the subpoena, he argued that he was unable to comply because Trump had invoked executive privilege, keeping him from providing testimony or documents to the committee. His attorneys requested a sentence of no more than six months of probation and a $200 fine. However, lower courts rejected this claim, as well as his argument that the prosecution was motivated by left-wing bias. A district court judge argued that Navarro had not proved that the prosecution was politically motivated.
Navarro attorney, Stanley Woodward, declined to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision. Navarro was scheduled to report to federal prison in Miami by 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
This case is notable as it is the second instance of a former Trump insider being convicted of contempt of Congress. Steve Bannon, another former Trump adviser, was found guilty of the same charges in 2022 and was sentenced to four months in prison. Bannon appealed his conviction, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard arguments in November of 2023, but a decision in his case has not yet been issued. The Supreme Court’s decision in the Navarro case could potentially influence the outcome of Bannon’s appeal.
