The Select Committee of the House investigating the January 6th Capitol attack is currently conducting a trial in the case of Peter Navarro, a former advisor to Trump, who was issued a citation in February 2022 for contempt. Navarro, who served as the Director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy under Donald Trump, is facing charges of contempt for his refusal to cooperate with Congress after being held in contempt by a grand jury in June.
During the presentation of closing arguments, the prosecutors argued that Navarro had will fully failed to produce documents and testify before the committee, while the defense argued that despite not testifying or producing documents, Navarro had been “cooperative” with the committee.
Navarro’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, stated that Navarro had informed the committee that he was “bound by executive privilege” and claimed executive privilege.
On Wednesday, during the testimony, David Bakley, the former Staff Director of the January 6th Committee, informed the jury that the committee was seeking to question Navarro about his involvement in efforts to delay the certification of Congress in the 2020 election, a plan Navarro referred to as the “Green Bay Sweep” in his book “In Trump Time.”
Woodward agreed with the prosecutors that Navarro did not submit documents or appear for testimony but argued that the January 6th Committee had failed to reach Trump to determine whether he asserted executive privilege regarding Navarro’s testimony and document production.
The prosecutors argued that Navarro still needs to “show up for his testimony” regarding his assertion of executive privilege.
Lead prosecutor John Crabb said, “In asserting executive privilege, they had to do that question-and-answer format.” “Mr. Navarro made it clear. He did not show up.”
Navarro is facing one case for refusing to testify before the committee and another for refusing to produce documents. If found guilty in both cases, he could face a maximum of two years in prison and a fine of up to $200,000.
A decision in the case could come as early as Thursday afternoon.