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Who is Peter Navarro? Former Trump aide ordered to report to jail on March 19 to serve four-month sentence
Peter Navarro, a former White House advisor to Donald Trump, has been ordered to report to a Miami jail on March 19 to start serving a four-month term.
Peter Navarro, a former White House advisor to former US President Donald Trump, has been ordered to report to a Miami jail on March 19 to start serving a four-month term for violating a subpoena issued by the January 6 select committee.
“Dr. Navarro has now been ordered to report to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, FCI Miami, on or before 2:00PM EDT on March 19, 2024,” Navarro's attorney stated in a court document, as per Politico.
Last year, Navarro was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress one for failing to submit papers pertaining to the investigation and another for failing to appear for his testimony.
While his lawyers are appealing to a federal appeals court to delay his sentence as he seeks to overturn his conviction, Navarro, 74, might become the first prominent adviser to Trump to serve jail term for an offense related to the plot to disrupt the 2020 election.
“Accordingly, Dr. Navarro respectfully reiterates his request for an administrative stay … Should this Court deny Dr. Navarro’s motion, he respectfully requests an administrative stay so as to permit the Supreme Court review of this Court’s denial," reads the document.
Who is Peter Navarro?
Navarro was the second former Trump aide charged of refusing to appear before the January 6 panel. In July 2022, a jury convicted Steve Bannon of ignoring a subpoena issued by the committee.
Bannon was directed to serve four months in prison, but another judge allowed him to remain free pending an appeal. Following this, he pleaded his case before a federal appeals court in November and has yet to serve any time.
US District Judge Amit Mehta, who presided over Navarro's trial, refused to let the Trump aide out of prison while the procedure for appealing is underway.
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During the trial, prosecutors claimed Navarro demonstrated "utter disregard" for the House committee's investigation.
However, Navarro in court maintained that he had a "honest belief" that Trump had invoked presidential privilege, which Mehta prohibited him from raising as a defence at trial.
His lawyers claimed in court filings that Mehta's decision "hamstrung" Navarro's case by leaving open the subject of whether a president can instruct his staff members not to appear before Congress.
