On Monday, we reported that ex-Trump advisor Peter Navarro had been ordered to report to federal prison March 19 for contempt of Congress and that U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta denied his request for a stay while the case was under appeal.
See:
On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also refused to step in, so on Friday, Navarro filed an emergency request with the United States Supreme Court asking them to keep him from being thrown behind bars.
The case is unprecedented, his lawyers argue:
In an emergency request filed Friday, Navarro’s lawyers asked the court to keep him out of prison during the appeals process, arguing that he is not a flight risk or danger to public safety.
“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,” his lawyers said in the application. “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 was accused by the duplicitous January 6 Committee of plotting with another former Trump advisor, Steve Bannon, to block Congress from certifying the 2020 election results. He was subpoenaed by the committee but refused to appear and was convicted in 2023 of two counts of contempt of Congress — one for failing to produce documents and another for skipping his deposition.
More J6 Committee:
Report Details How Liz Cheney and Democrats Deleted Evidence, Hired Producers to Mislead Public
It Didn’t Happen: Secret Service Driver Says Trump ‘Never Grabbed the Steering Wheel’ on Jan. 6
The 74-year-old former trade advisor to Trump is due to report to a Bureau of Prisons facility in Miami by 2 p.m. on Tuesday. SCOTUS gave the Justice Department until Monday at 2 p.m. to respond to Navarro’s filing.
Former president and current frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination Donald Trump displayed his support for his former aide on his Truth Social account:
Trump wrote:
Peter did his job well, he did it faithfully, and he loved our Country…
Peter Navarro is a Patriot who has been treated very badly, but he continues forward. In the end, there will be Victory!
Notably, Navarro is receiving different treatment than another former Trump aide, Steve Bannon:
Navarro, an economist who advised Trump on trade issues, was the second former Trump aide convicted for refusing to cooperate with the Jan. 6 panel. Steve Bannon was convicted by a jury in July 2022 for similarly blowing off a subpoena from the committee.
However, the judge in Bannon’s case, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, agreed not to enforce Bannon’s four-month sentence while he appeals his conviction to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Navarro’s judge, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, rejected Navarro’s attempt for a similar stay.
Just another example of some of the head-spinning legal decisions recently by judges and prosecutors.
Unless there’s a Hail Mary pass from the Supreme Court, Navarro will be the first prominent Trump advisor to be put behind bars.
