Washington, D.C. – Peter Navarro, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, faces a four-month prison sentence after the Supreme Court rejected his emergency request to delay his sentence for contempt of Congress. The Bureau of Prisons scheduled Navarro to report for detention by 2 p.m. in Miami on Tuesday unless the Supreme Court intervened.
Chief Justice John Roberts stated that he saw no reason to disagree with the appeals court decision denying Navarro’s request to remain free while he appeals his conviction. Navarro was convicted in September for refusing to testify or provide documents to the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
Navarro, a former trade adviser, argued that he could not cooperate because Trump had claimed executive privilege to keep their communications confidential. However, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found no evidence to support Navarro’s claim. A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that Navarro had forfeited his opportunity to argue executive privilege and is unlikely to succeed in his appeal.
Despite Navarro’s assertions that he poses no flight risk or danger to public safety, the Justice Department argued that he did not comply with the committee’s requests for personal communications that would have been unprotected even if executive privilege had been invoked. The department emphasized the committee’s need for the information over claims of executive privilege.
The January 6 committee sought to question Navarro due to his writings in his 2021 book where he detailed a scheme to delay the certification of President Joe Biden’s election. Navarro described the scheme as the “Green Bay Sweep” and claimed it was a final attempt to overturn the election results. Another Trump aide, Steve Bannon, also refused to cooperate with the committee and was convicted of contempt of Congress.
Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison, but U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols permitted him to remain free during his appeal process. The Supreme Court also recently let stand a ban against Cowboys for Trump co-founder using the 14th Amendment.