The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was properly convicted for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Navarro had argued that President Trump invoked executive privilege, preventing him from turning over documents or testifying. The appeals court rejected the argument, finding that Navarro failed to show Trump had formally invoked executive privilege for the subpoena.
The court also noted that Navarro refused to cooperate with the committee’s efforts to address his privilege claim on a question-by-question basis. He did not provide documents, submit a privilege log or appear for his scheduled deposition.
Navarro was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress, one for refusing to provide documents and another for refusing to testify. The appeals court upheld both convictions. The court also ruled that Navarro could not argue to the jury that he had mistakenly believed executive privilege protected him from complying with the subpoena.
