Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was sentenced to four months in jail for contempt of Congress on Thursday. This comes after he defied a subpoena related to the Congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Navarro was found guilty of two counts of contempt in September for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the attack. The judge overseeing Navarro’s case stated that the former Trump adviser’s sentence is of his “own creation,” and lashed out at Navarro for claiming his prosecution was politically motivated.
In addition to his jail sentence, Navarro was also fined $9,500. He promptly appealed the case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that he failed to comply with the subpoena because Trump had invoked executive privilege.
The Justice Department had sought a sentence of six months imprisonment for Navarro on each count, and imposing a $200,000 fine. They argued that Navarro’s decision not to comply with the subpoenas was similar to the conduct of some of the people who participated in the riots, stating that Navarro “put politics before country and impeded the congressional investigation.”
Navarro’s conviction and sentencing represent a significant victory for the House Jan. 6 commission in its efforts to have the Justice Department criminally pursue people who refused to cooperate with its investigation. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon faced similar charges and was sentenced to four months in prison. His case is currently under appeal.
Navarro’s trial, held in September, proceeded quickly and the jury took less than a day to hear all the evidence in the case. The Justice Department used testimony from former members of the House January 6 committee to argue that Navarro was repeatedly informed of his demands.
Navarro’s attorneys are seeking a sentence of no more than six months’ probation on each count and have asked to suspend whatever sentence is imposed while they appeal the conviction.
The appeal of this case may define what is required of a former president to invoke executive privilege regarding his senior advisors. The Federal Appeals Court in Washington is currently considering Bannon’s request to overturn his own contempt of Congress conviction.
Navarro’s sentencing represents another milestone in the effort to hold former Trump officials accountable for their actions related to the Capitol attack.