Former Trump aide Peter Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress on Thursday, September 7, for refusing to cooperate with the House Committee inquiry into alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election result that resulted in the Jan 6 attack.
Navarro, who served as an economic adviser for former president Donald Trump, was served with a subpoena in February 2022 by the House Committee appointed to investigate the Jan 6 case. The committee sought to question Navarro about efforts to overturn the 2020 election, after in his book "Trump Time" released in 2021, he alleged to be the architect of a strategy to challenge the election results by claiming widespread voter fraud.
However, after Navarro refused to testify and failed to turn over requested emails or documents, he was indicted in June 2022 and arrested at a Washington airport as he was boarding a flight to Nashville. Navarro now faces up to two years in prison over the contempt conviction.
Details about Peter Navarro explored in the wake of conviction
Peter Navarro is a White American from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He obtained a degree in economics at Tufts University before attending Harvard University for his master’s in public administration and his Ph.D. in economics.
Navarro, who has also served as a business professor at the University of California—Irvine for more than 25 years, first made waves with his book “Death by China '' in 1998, where he criticized China’s trade policies. The book was turned into a documentary film that won several awards at film festivals.
In the ensuing years, the economist penned several books related to trade, including, “The Coming China Wars,” published in 2006. Former President Trump described the book as one of his favorites.
Trump’s admiration for Navarro’s trade views landed him the job in the White House, where he first served as the former president’s Assistant. Shortly after, he was named the Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy in the Trump administration.
Navarro was married to architect Leslie LeBon for nearly two decades, but the couple divorced in 2020.
Donald Trump tears into Nancy Pelosi after Peter Navarro's conviction
Shortly after his conviction on Thursday, Peter Navarro, standing outside the court in Washington DC, told reporters that he would appeal the verdict. He argued that he was justified in ignoring the subpoena, as for 50 years, the Department of Justice has had a policy that senior White House officials could not be compelled to testify before Congress.
"This is the first time in the history of our republic. that a senior White House adviser, an alter ego of the president, has ever been charged with this alleged crime."Donald Trump also criticized the conviction in a post in Truth Social where he tore into House Committee head Nancy Pelosi and said that Peter Navarro's testimony would not have "mattered" in the investigation. In a vitriolic rant, Trump wrote:
"I can’t believe that these Fascist Monsters have so viciously gone after the great Peter Navarro for defying the totally partisan January 6th Unselect Committee of political Hacks and Thugs, who refused to go after Crazy Nancy Pelosi, and the reasons she and the Mayor of D.C. REJECTED 10,000 soldiers, which would have easily stopped any future security problem."He added:
"His testimony wouldn’t have mattered, anyway, because the “Committee” QUICKLY and ILLEGALLY DELETED & DESTROYED ALL EVIDENCE & FINDINGS!"However, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Crabb said that Navarro acted above the law and faced the consequences of his actions.
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