By Steve Neavling
A jury convicted former Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Navarro faces up to one year in jail when he is sentenced on Jan. 12.
Navarro said he defied the subpoena because former President Trump instructed him to assert executive privilege.
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Navarro said he plans to appeal the conviction.
“We knew going in what the verdict was going to be. That is why this is going to the appeals court,” he told reporters outside the courthouse, CNN reports. “And we feel – look, I said from the beginning this is going to the Supreme Court. I said from the beginning I’m willing to go to prison to settle this issue, I’m willing to do that.”
Asked whether Trump has offered to help him with legal bills, Navarro called the former president “a rock.”
“President Trump has been a rock in terms of assistance. We talk when we need to talk,” Navarro said. “He will win the presidential race in 2024, in November. You know why? Because the people are tired of Joe Biden weaponizing courts like this and the Department of Justice.”
Tim Mulvey, former spokesman for the House committee, applauded the verdict.
“His defiance of the committee was brazen,” Mulvey said in a statement. “Like the other witnesses who attempted to stonewall the committee, he thought he was above the law. He isn’t. That’s a good thing for the rule of law. I imagine that those under indictment right now are getting a good reminder of that right now.”
Navarro is the second former Trump aide to be convicted of contempt for disobeying a congressional subpoena. Steve Bannon was convicted last year of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas issued by the House committee. He was sentenced to four months in jail, but the sentence is on hold while he appeals the conviction.
