<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1654801492928,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-00b6-db7d-abfd-7cb766d10000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1654801492928,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-00b6-db7d-abfd-7cb766d10000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_54011074", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1023014"} }); ","_id":"00000181-49da-d1f1-a1c3-7bdbe7210000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedFormer White House adviser Peter Navarro fabricated details of his arrest last week in recent public comments about the incident, federal prosecutors told a judge Thursday.
Navarro, 72, falsely claimed he was denied legal counsel, food, and water during his arrest at an airport, the Justice Department said in a court motion opposing his request for a 45-day extension for his arraignment.
WITH NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION, NAVARRO PLEADS FOR EXTENSION IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS CASE
“Defendant’s submission contains numerous misrepresentations and provides no justification for the delay he requests. The public has a strong interest in the prompt, effective, and efficient administration of justice in this case,” federal prosecutors wrote in the filing. “He cites no authority under which a speedy trial can be delayed to allow a civil case to proceed.”
On Wednesday, Navarro requested a 45-day extension for his arraignment and status conference to buy time to find legal representation. He is facing a contempt of Congress charge for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Federal officials arrested him at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last Thursday to issue charges against him while he was poised to depart on a trip to Nashville, Tennessee.
In his extension request, Navarro said that the “FBI agent in charge refused to allow me to contact an attorney for legal advice prior to appearing before the magistrate.” The department countered this claim Thursday.
“Defendant refused counsel when it was previously offered and insisted that he would proceed pro se; now that he has apparently changed his mind with respect to representing himself, he still has a week to secure counsel before his arraignment,” federal prosecutors said.
“I made several requests to make a call for legal advice at the time of the arrest,” Navarro told the Washington Examiner. “This was denied and my phone was confiscated. The record is clear on this. The record is also clear that I have requested the continuance to provide a reasonable time to find legal representation for a case that is unprecedented in our history. This is a reasonable request that I’m asking the court, at its discretion, to grant.”
The DOJ filing also included an FBI affidavit that corroborates elements of federal prosecutors’ version of events. During his arrest, he made provocative statements, referring to agents as “kind Nazis” and asking “How could you live with yourself?” according to the affidavit.
On Wednesday, prosecutors also filed a gag order request against Navarro to avert a “carnival atmosphere” while the case of contempt charges against him proceeds.
“As he did in his post-court statements, the Defendant accused the Government of misconduct, claiming it used a ‘terrorist strategy’ to arrest him,” prosecutors wrote in a motion for protective order filing Wednesday. “The Defendant’s extrajudicial statements, however, demonstrate a substantial risk that, without a protective order, the Defendant will use non-public discovery for improper purposes instead of to prepare the defense he plans to present before this Court.”
Navarro condemned the gag order request Wednesday during an appearance on Fox News.
“While I was in there, the Justice Department leaked that I had been arrested — to the press,” Navarro said. “So if they want to start doing gag orders and messing around with communications to the press, I think they should start there.”
Initially, Navarro scoffed at the idea of doling out hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to address his legal woes, telling reporters last Thursday he was representing himself pro se. However, his Wednesday filing signals that he has changed his mind.
“At this point, I am very actively seeking a legal team but am facing a number of hurdles,” he told U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta Wednesday.
He also pleaded with his followers to purchase his book to help him raise funds for legal expenses.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1534723673009037313?s=20&t=7AvV_qlUga4s8x7aml63Zw
Prosecutors insist he was given water during his arrest, contrary to his claims to Fox News’s Tucker Carlson that he was deprived of it. Absent from court filing was any mention of Navarro’s claim that he was put in leg irons during his arrest.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Navarro maintains that he defied a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee issued in February because President Donald Trump asserted executive privilege. However, President Joe Biden has waived executive privilege claims.
The panel was eager to pepper him with questions on his “Green Bay Sweep” plan to challenge the 2020 election — something Navarro has boasted about in numerous media appearances. His defiance of the subpoena led to a contempt of Congress vote against him in April, which is now being pursued by the Justice Department.
Three days before his arrest, he slapped the Jan. 6 committee with a lawsuit over the subpoena. The lawsuit revealed he is facing another subpoena from Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, similarly requesting information about his 2020 election actions.
If convicted, Navarro could face between 30 days and one year in prison, as well as up to $100,000 in fines per charge.
