Federal Appeals Court Upholds Peter Navarro's Contempt of Congress Convictions

A federal appeals court upheld Peter Navarro's convictions for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stated that Navarro could not demonstrate that former President Trump had invoked executive privilege to shield him from the subpoena's requirements. Judge Patricia Millett noted that even if executive privilege had been invoked, it would not have justified Navarro's failure to comply with the subpoena. Navarro has already served a four-month prison sentence for his contempt of Congress conviction and was a White House trade adviser during Trump's first term. He has maintained that he could not cooperate with the committee due to Trump's claimed executive privilege, but the courts concluded he failed to prove this claim. In September 2023, a jury convicted Navarro of two counts of contempt of Congress, and he reported to a federal prison in Miami in early 2024. After his release, he spoke at the Republican National Convention, stating, 'I went to prison so you won’t have to,' and continued to pursue an appeal.