By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department is reevaluating its legal stance on former Trump White House trade adviser Peter Navarro’s criminal contempt of Congress conviction, a move that could lead to the case being overturned, The Washington Post reports.
In a court filing on April 4, federal prosecutors asked to postpone oral arguments in Navarro’s appeal so the department could “reexamine its position on the executive-privilege issues implicated in this appeal.” A federal appeals court granted the request and gave the government until Aug. 29 to decide whether to continue opposing Navarro’s appeal.
Navarro, 75, served four months in prison after a jury convicted him in 2023 of refusing to comply with subpoenas from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The committee sought his testimony after he described working with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon on a plan to overturn the 2020 election.
Navarro argued that executive privilege protected him from having to testify, but U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta rejected that claim, calling the defense “pretty weak sauce.”
“It’s not just [writing] ‘executive privilege’ by email, ‘Go away,’” Mehta said during the trial, finding that Navarro failed to show Trump formally invoked privilege or directed him not to cooperate.
The department’s request came two days after Trump announced new tariffs backed by Navarro. Navarro also reignited tensions with critics of those trade policies, including billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk.
Navarro did not oppose the Justice Department’s motion. Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed to delay arguments originally set for Thursday. The panel includes Judges Patricia Millett, Cornelia Pillard, and J. Michelle Childs.
It’s unclear how the Justice Department will ultimately proceed, but if it abandons its opposition to Navarro’s appeal, the court may appoint an outside attorney to argue for upholding the conviction.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.
