President Trump’s former trade adviser Peter Navarro is scheduled to report to Miami federal prison on Tuesday after losing a last-minute appeal to the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday denied Navarro’s petition to be released pending his appeal of his conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress on September 7, 2023.
“I see no basis to challenge this decision,” Roberts wrote, referring to a lower court ruling that paved the way for Navarro’s future prison service.
This denial left Mr. Navarro with no choice.
He was sentenced to four months in prison for defying a subpoena to testify and produce documents from the now-defunct House Select Committee on Jan. 6.
Mr. Navarro is currently appealing that conviction. He is now on track to become the most senior former Trump administration official to face charges related to the 2020 election.
The 74-year-old argued that President Trump’s executive privilege prevents him from cooperating with the committee.
Executive privilege gives the president the power to withhold certain materials, but the court ruled it did not apply to Navarro.
Navarro was not the only Trump administration alumnus to be charged with contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas.
The same goes for former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who was found guilty of two counts of contempt in 2022 and sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay a $6,500 fine. Mr. Bannon appealed this conviction.
Congress also referred former White House chief of staff Dan Scavino and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress.
But the Justice Department declined to prosecute Mr. Scavino or Mr. Meadows.
Navarro is fighting a civil lawsuit from the Justice Department over records that he says did not return to the National Archives and Records Administration after leaving the White House.
“Judge Roberts cautioned that the reasons for denial are “different than.” [my] The merits of the case are under appeal. “The appeal on the merits will continue, and if I fail in my appeal despite serving my entire sentence, the constitutional separation of powers will be irreparably undermined,” Navarro said in a statement. mentioned in.
“There’s a lot at stake here and it’s worth fighting for.”
