Former President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal that President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) would “absolutely” rehire former aides it had jailed.
A judge sentenced 74-year-old Peter Navarro to four months in federal prison after Congress found him guilty of contempt for ignoring a congressional subpoena on January 6. Despite the sentence, Trump Said The WSJ reported that Navarro would be rehired if he returned to the White House, but Navarro responded that he was not looking for work and would return “if my boss needs me.” (Related: Ex-Trump aide accuses Wall Street elites of working behind the scenes to sabotage MAGA agenda)
“I absolutely want Peter back. This outrageous behavior by the Democratic Party should never have happened,” the former president told the Journal.
Navarro added that he has no interest in a pardon if Trump returns to the White House, but that he wouldn’t change anything about what he’s done.
“I have no regrets,” Navarro told the outlet two months after his sentencing. “I didn’t choose this fight, this fight chose me.”
Navarro is the first White House official to be jailed for contempt of Congress, and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon could be next after a federal appeals court upheld his contempt contempt conviction. (RELATED: Biden-appointed prosecutor urges judge to jail Steve Bannon)
Former advisor to President Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, speaks to reporters before reporting to federal prison in Miami, Florida, on March 19, 2024. Navarro, who was convicted of contempt of Congress last year, spoke to the media before reporting to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to begin serving his four-month sentence. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The WSJ report detailed Navarro’s life in prison, noting that he would exercise in the morning, work during the day, and exercise some more in the evening. Navarro wrote op-eds for The Washington Times during his time in prison.
“This is a prison. This is not a country for old people, frankly,” Navarro told the outlet. “Don’t be fooled by all this nonsense about it being an idyllic zoo.”
“There’s no protein to be found. Since I’ve been here, I haven’t seen a fresh orange or grapefruit in the heart of citrus country,” he added.
