Former Trump White House Adviser Convicted of Contempt of Congress
When he refused to assist with an investigation into the deadly attack on the US Capitol on January 6, a Trump White House adviser was held in contempt of Congress on Thursday.
After a brief trial, Peter Navarro, who served as Trump’s senior trade advisor and supported his flimsy allegations of widespread voter fraud, was found guilty in a federal courtroom in Washington.
He was found guilty of two charges of misdemeanor contempt of Congress, each carrying a potential sentence of up to a year in jail.
The sentencing for Navarro has been set on January 12 by Judge Amit Mehta.
In February 2022, Navarro was subpoenaed by the House committee investigating how and why Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, interfering with the announcement of Joseph Biden’s victory.
The committee reasoned that he might know more about any link between those allegations and the assault on Congress.
Yet, Navarro failed to provide any emails, reports, or notes. He was scheduled to appear before the committee, but he did not.
In order to find out what information Trump intended to be covered by executive privilege, Navarro did speak with committee staffers, according to a statement made by the defense’s Stanley Woodward to the jury. It never happened, according to Woodward.
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Navarro Joins Bannon
Nonetheless, prosecutors claimed that Navarro ought to have provided what information he could and identified any inquiries or records they suspected to be covered by executive privilege.
Several of the items the committee was looking for, according to them, were already in the public domain. Navarro, a former professor of economics, became the second Trump advisor to be charged with a crime after declining to assist the House committee.
Former White House strategist and full-time far-right provocateur Stephen Bannon was found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress and given a four-month prison term. As he was appealing the verdict, he was unconfined.
Woodward petitioned for a mistrial on Thursday after Navarro was found guilty, claiming that the jury had taken a break outside near where demonstrators and the media frequently congregate outside the courthouse and returned with a decision shortly after.
Mehta said he will take into account written arguments on the matter but did not make a decision right away.
The House January 6 committee finished its investigation in January and concluded that Trump had illegally participated in a “multiple conspiracy” to tamper with the legitimate results of the 2020 election and had done nothing to stop his followers from storming the Capitol.
Additionally, the US justice department has accused Trump of violating four criminal laws in connection with his attempts to rig the election. In Georgia, where there was election tampering, he is also charged with state counts 13 there.
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Source: The Guardian