Judge Delays Peter Navarro Contempt of Congress Trial Over Executive Privilege Claims

Navarro speaks to the media after his hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2022. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The contempt of Congress trial for former Trump administration adviser, Peter Navarro, was delayed by a federal judge on Jan. 27 until the role that executive privilege could potentially play in the trial is established.

Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday granted attorneys for both the Department of Justice and Navarro additional time to address complicated questions regarding whether or not executive privilege applies to Navarro, extending a briefing schedule on the matter until the end of March.

Navarro, who served as a White House adviser during the Trump administration, was indicted by a federal grand jury in June last year for two counts of contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

One count was over his failure to produce documents requested by the committee, and the other was for his failure to answer the committee’s subpoena to appear and testify.

At the time, the select committee said it had “reason to believe that Navarro had information relevant to its investigation” regarding the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol that sought to delay the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

He was ordered to hand over documents by Feb. 23 and appear for a deposition on March 2.

President Donald Trump and White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro check out the new Endurance all-electric pickup truck on the south lawn of the White House in Washington on Sept. 28, 2020. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Judge in ‘Uncharted Territory’

However, Navarro argued that former President Donald Trump had invoked executive privilege in connection with the investigation, meaning that he was immune from having to cooperate with the committee’s probe.

Those claims were rejected by the committee and in April last year, the House of Representatives voted to refer Navarro, as well as Dan Scavino, who was Trump’s deputy chief of staff for communications, to the DOJ for criminal contempt of Congress.

Both face up to a year in prison or fines of up to $100,000, or both if they are convicted of contempt of Congress.

Navarro was initially scheduled to go on trial this week.

During Friday’s hearing, however, Mehta said he felt like “we are in uncharted territory” when it comes to how a potential executive privilege defense should be handled at trial, Roll Call reported.

Elsewhere, lawyers for Navarro on Jan. 24 gave the court a letter (pdf) from an attorney representing Trump that confirmed that the former president’s communications with Navarro during his presidency were protected by executive privilege.

“Our understanding is that the information sought by the subpoena included information which is protected from disclosure by the executive and other privileges, including but not limited to the presidential communications, deliberative process, and attorney-client privileges,” stated the letter, which was signed by lawyer Evan Corcoran on behalf of Trump.

“President Trump consistently asserts and defends these privileges – which must be preserved so that a President may perform his constitutionally-based duties,” it said.

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the House Jan. 6 panel, delivers closing remarks alongside Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) during the sixth hearing on the Jan. 6 investigation in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington on June 28, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

New Trial Date Unknown

“It is critical to the functioning of the Office of the President that your communications with President Trump remain confidential,” the letter added. “Such confidentiality ensures that President Trump could obtain your candid counsel and advice without concern about the possibility of disclosure to third parties.”

However, the judge on Friday said that the letter was “notable for what it does not say.”

“It doesn’t say Mr. Trump ever instructed Mr. Navarro to invoke executive privilege with respect to the Jan. 6 select committee,” Mehta said, according to Roll Call.

Still, Mehta also pointed to previous DOJ opinions that show that Congress lacks the authority to compel senior White House aides to testify if a president has invoked executive privilege, according to Bloomberg.

That, the judge said, means that the DOJ needs to prove that Congress does have the authority to compel Navarro to testify.

Prosecutors have argued that executive privileges should not apply because at the time the subpoena was issued, Navarro was a former adviser and Trump was a former president. They also noted on Friday that Navarro’s claims regarding executive privilege claim had been rejected before the trial was set to begin.

“It is unprecedented for a jury to be asked to decide whether executive privilege has been invoked,” DOJ attorney Elizabeth Aloi said.

Mehta stopped short of setting a new trial date on Friday, waiting instead until both sides can present further evidence in support or opposition of the executive privilege claims.

The Epoch Times has contacted the DOJ and Navarro’s lawyer for comment.