Navarro is charged with defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee last year.
September 7, 2023, 11:06 AM
Closing arguments are underway Thursday in the trial of former Trump adviser Peter Navarro on charges of defying a subpoena issued in February 2022 by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Navarro, who under Trump was director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, is being tried on contempt of Congress charges after he was indicted by a grand jury in June.
The prosecution and defense both rested their cases Wednesday, with David Buckley, a former staff director for the Jan. 6 committee, testifying that the committee was seeking to question Navarro about efforts to delay Congress’ certification of the 2020 election, a plan Navarro dubbed the “Green Bay Sweep” in his book, “In Trump Time.”
Navarro’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, agreed with prosecutors that Navarro did not submit documents or show up for testimony — but, he said, the Jan. 6 committee failed to contact former President Donald Trump to find out if he had asserted executive privilege over Navarro’s testimony and document production.
Prosecutors argued that Navarro still “had to show up to his deposition.”
Peter Navarro, an advisor to former President Donald Trump, arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse on September 07, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“To cite the privilege, he had to do it on a question-by-question basis,” lead prosecutor John Crabb said. “That was made clear to Mr. Navarro. He didn’t show up.”
Navarro faces one count over his refusal to appear for a deposition in front of the committee, and another count for refusing to produce documents. If convicted on both counts, he could face a maximum of two years in prison and fines up to $200,000.
A verdict in the case could come as soon as Thursday afternoon.
