This is not good news for MAGA world.
On Thursday, Peter Navarro, a former official in the Trump White House, was found guilty of contempt of Congress charges. These charges were brought against him because of his refusal to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the events of January 6, 2021, when the U.S. Capitol was attacked.
According to Newsmax, Navarro, who previously served as a White House trade adviser during Donald Trump’s presidency and later promoted Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, faced a brief trial. He became the second Trump associate to be charged with contempt of Congress, with Steve Bannon being the first. Bannon was convicted on two counts and received a four-month prison sentence, though he remains free while awaiting appeal.
According to prosecutors, Navarro displayed a disregard for the law by defying a congressional subpoena for documents and a deposition requested by the House Jan. 6 committee. He faced two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress, each carrying a potential sentence of up to one year in prison.
Navarro’s defense argued that he did not outright ignore the congressional subpoena but advised committee staffers to consult with Trump to determine which materials might be protected by executive privilege. However, the court ruled that Navarro’s executive privilege argument did not serve as a valid defense, as there was no evidence to indicate that Trump had invoked such privilege.
Prosecutors contended that much of the information sought by the committee was already publicly available, and Navarro should have complied with the request, identifying any documents or concerns related to executive privilege.
Meanwhile, Trump himself is facing federal charges in Washington, D.C., and state charges in Georgia for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results against Joe Biden. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that his actions were within the bounds of the law.
The House Jan. 6 committee completed its investigation in January, concluding in a final report that accused Trump of engaging in a “multi-part conspiracy” to unlawfully overturn the 2020 election results and failing to intervene in preventing his supporters from attacking the Capitol.