Trump White House official Peter Navarro convicted of contempt of Congress costs

WASHINGTON — Trump White House official Peter Navarro was convicted Thursday of contempt of Congress costs filed after he was accused of refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

The verdict got here after a brief trial for Navarro, who served as a White House commerce adviser underneath President Donald Trump and later promoted the Republican’s baseless claims of mass voter fraud within the 2020 election he misplaced.

Navarro was the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress costs after former White House adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon was convicted of two counts and was sentenced to 4 months behind bars, although he has been free pending attraction.

Prosecutors stated Navarro acted as if he had been “above the law” when he defied a subpoena for paperwork and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 committee. He was charged with two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress, each punishable by as much as a 12 months behind bars.

A protection lawyer argued Navarro didn’t ignore the congressional subpoena however as an alternative instructed committee staffers to contact Trump about what materials is perhaps lined by government privilege, one thing they didn’t do.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta dominated Navarro’s government privilege argument wasn’t a protection towards the costs, discovering that Navarro hadn’t proven proof Trump invoked it.

Prosecutors stated that a lot of the fabric the committee sought was already publicly out there and that Navarro ought to have handed over what he might and flagged any questions or paperwork believed to be protected underneath government privilege.

Trump faces a federal indictment in Washington, D.C., and a state indictment in Georgia over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, a Democrat. He has denied wrongdoing and has stated he was performing inside the legislation.

The House Jan. 6 committee completed its work in January, after a ultimate report that stated Trump criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful outcomes of the 2020 election and didn’t act to cease a mob of his supporters from attacking the Capitol.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows beneath.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A jury started weighing contempt of Congress costs towards Trump White House official Peter Navarro on Thursday over his failure to cooperate with a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Prosecutors argued that Navarro “chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump” over obeying a subpoena from the House panel investigating after a mob of the Republican’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and interrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential vote for Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Navarro, a former senior commerce adviser, is charged with two counts of contempt of Congress. A protection lawyer argued Navarro didn’t purposely ignore the House Jan. 6 Committee. Navarro as an alternative instructed staffers to contact Trump about what is perhaps protected by government privilege, one thing that didn’t occur, protection lawyer Stanley Woodward argued.

A decide has dominated the chief privilege argument isn’t a protection towards the costs, discovering Navarro couldn’t present that Trump had invoked it. But Woodward stated prosecutors hadn’t confirmed that Navarro acted “willfully” or solely out of loyalty to Trump. “Do we know that his failure to comply beyond reasonable doubt wasn’t the result of accident, inadvertence or mistake?” he stated.

Prosecutors, although, stated Navarro ought to have handed over what materials he might and flagged any questions or paperwork believed to be protected underneath government privilege.

“Peter Navarro made a choice. He chose not abide by the congressional subpoena,” prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi stated. “The defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over compliance to the subpoena.”

Navarro faces two costs, one for failing to provide paperwork and a second for failing to take a seat for a deposition. He faces as much as a 12 months behind bars on every rely if convicted.

Navarro was the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress costs after former White House adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon was convicted of two counts and was sentenced to 4 months behind bars, although he has been free pending attraction.

The House Jan. 6 committee completed its work in January, after a ultimate report that stated Trump criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful outcomes of the 2020 election and didn’t act to cease a mob of his supporters from attacking the Capitol.