Trump Aide's Contempt of Congress Trial to Test Congressional Subpoena Power

Matt Vespa | June 01, 2023 8:30 AM

Former White House adviser Peter Navarro, who served as Director of the Trade Council and Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy during the Trump administration, is set to have his contempt of Congress trial on September 5. Navarro refused to comply with a congressional subpoena during the body’s investigation into the January 6 riot in 2021. Navarro claimed executive privilege, which presented a legal quandary for the legal teams involved, including the judge. According to Roll Call, it's already been decided that the contempt of Congress charges couldn’t be dismissed based on executive privilege. But the publication added that the judge has yet to decide what course of action to take if Navarro testifies Trump ordered him to invoke that right. The limits of congressional subpoena power are the legal test at play here. If convicted, Navarro faced up to a year in prison (via Roll Call):

A federal judge on Tuesday set a Sept. 5 trial date for former Trump White House advisor Peter Navarro on criminal charges stemming from his refusal to cooperate with a subpoena from the House select panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
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Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia already ruled that Navarro could not dismiss the charges over his claim of executive privilege. But he has yet to decide what to do at trial if Navarro testified to the jury that Trump instructed him to invoke privilege.
Navarro was originally meant to face trial earlier this year. The case, a rare prosecution for defying a congressional subpoena, may test the limits of the legislative branch’s subpoena power.
In a court filing, the Justice Department argued Navarro should not be allowed to bring up the issue at all in his testimony. Prosecutors said Navarro had presented no evidence that Trump instructed him to invoke privilege and he should not be allowed to bring that up at trial.
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Navarro’s attorney argued in a brief that past presidents can assert executive privilege and Navarro should still have the chance to bring up the privilege issue at trial.
In addition to the trial date, Mehta set a June 21 hearing on the executive privilege claim and other legal issues and an August 30 pretrial hearing.

Let’s hope this trial is the last gasp of January 6 hysterics exhibited by the Democrats, the political class, and the establishment media. But it also underscores what many Trump aides and staffers have endured since leaving the administration: legal blowback. Some warranted, others not so much—but the legal fees alone would send most into bankruptcy. It’s why I fear Donald Trump’s second go-around for the White House will be stacked with sub-par operatives who cannot cobble together a winning campaign. That’s the risk because those who know better avoid becoming locked in the crosshairs of a hyper-political Justice Department under Joe Biden.