Peter Navarro sentenced to four months in prison for defying Jan. 6 committee

Source: Politico | January 25, 2024 | Kyle Cheney

The former Trump trade adviser’s refusal to testify to Congress hindered the investigation of the Jan. 6 attack, a federal judge said.

Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser to Donald Trump, has been sentenced to four months in prison for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta handed down the sentence Thursday, describing Navarro’s refusal to testify or provide documents to the panel as an affront to a branch of government seeking to understand a harrowing attack on democracy.

“In all of this, even today, there is little acknowledgement of what your obligation is as an American to cooperate with Congress, to provide them with information they are seeking,” Mehta said. “They had a job to do. And you made it harder. It’s really that simple.”

“You are not a victim. You are not the object of a political prosecution,” Mehta added. “These are circumstances of your own making.”

The sentence followed nearly two years of proceedings that became entangled with complicated questions about executive privilege — and whether Navarro’s defiance could be considered criminal if he believed that Trump had wanted him to protect the confidentiality of their conversations.

Mehta acknowledged the historic significance of those questions, but he said nothing excused Navarro’s blanket defiance, particularly aimed at a congressional panel seeking to understand an attack on the transfer of presidential power. He also scolded Navarro for making public comments attributing his prosecution to politics rather than his own conduct.

“Nancy Pelosi’s not responsible for your prosecution. Joe Biden’s not responsible for your prosecution,” Mehta said. “It’s those kinds of statements from somebody who knows better … that contributes to why our politics are so corrosive.”

Mehta declined to immediately rule on Navarro’s bid to remain free while he appeals his conviction. If he ultimately rejects it, Navarro would likely be the first senior Trump White House aide to spend time in prison, despite legal trouble swirling around several others for years.

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