Peter Navarro lost a federal appeals court bid to overturn his contempt of Congress conviction for defying a subpoena during the Jan. 6 riot.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the convictions of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously that Navarro failed to prove President Trump had shielded him from the requirements by invoking executive privilege. Navarro, who took credit in a 2021 book for planning to delay the certification of the 2020 election results, was found guilty in 2023 of two counts of contempt of Congress. While Navarro argued that the administration provided him the authority to assert executive privilege, the court found he acted unilaterally without sufficient documentation or direction from President Trump. Navarro has already served a four-month prison sentence. Although the administration has let the appeal play out, Navarro intends to move swiftly to correct what his attorney describes as incorrect legal precedent regarding how presidential advisors comply with congressional demands.