Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro is calling on a federal court to toss out a contempt of Congress indictment against him for defying a Jan. 6 committee subpoena.
Navarro reiterated his previous arguments that he was caught in the crosshairs of a power dispute between the legislative and executive branches of government due to former President Donald Trump’s assertion of executive privilege. He also argued that prosecuting him over the subpoena “violates the doctrine of Separation of Powers and is unconstitutional.”
DOJ SAYS NAVARRO TOLD AGENTS TO ‘GET THE F*** OUT OF HERE’ WHEN SERVED SUBPOENA
“Dr. Navarro has been unfairly caught in a dispute between the executive and legislative branches of our government and placed on the horns of a dilemma: follow the explicit instructions from the President he served as a senior advisor for four years, or risk being held in Contempt of Congress and criminally prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” he declared in a motion to dismiss the indictment.
He filed the motion to dismiss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia late Wednesday. In addition to rehashing his executive privilege concerns, Navarro also criticized the Justice Department’s handling of the case. His motion included a redacted section titled, “The Government’s Presentation To The Grand Jury Underscores The Unusual Way the Department Has Approached this Prosecution.”
Navarro has publicly condemned the prosecution of the case and accused the government of harboring “animus” toward him.
“The Government’s refusal to allow Dr. Navarro to self-report to court after being charged with two non-violent misdemeanors is indeed unusual and demonstrates a selective animus towards him by the Government officials responsible for the decisions made in this case,” he argued in the motion to dismiss.
In February, Navarro was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel for testimony and documents pertinent to its inquiry but refused to capitulate, citing executive privilege. Congress voted to hold him in contempt in April. In June, he was arrested by federal authorities in a dramatic scene at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport during a trip to Nashville and charged in the contempt case.
Navarro pleaded not guilty in June to the two misdemeanor charges against him for the contempt of Congress charges. Prosecutors claim that he also rejected a plea agreement in the case shortly after he was indicted.
Last month, a jury found Steve Bannon, another Trump ally, guilty of contempt of Congress charges levied against him for his failure to comply with a Jan. 6 committee subpoena. Bannon had similarly argued Trump’s assertion of executive privilege precluded him from cooperating with the panel. Unlike Navarro, Bannon was not part of the Trump administration during the time period in question.
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Two former Trump administration officials, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, were also held in contempt of Congress for defying a Jan. 6 committee subpoena. However, the DOJ has declined to pursue criminal charges against them.
If convicted, Navarro could face a fine of up to $100,000 per charge and up to one year in prison. A hearing on his motion to dismiss is scheduled for Sept. 23.
