Topline
Peter Navarro, an ex-aide to former President Donald Trump, claimed “executive privilege” in refusing to tell reporters if he had spoken to Trump while reporting to prison Tuesday, claiming he is beginning his four-month stay in federal prison “proudly” following a failed 11th-hour bid to appeal his contempt of Congress conviction.
Former Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro walks away after holding a press conference before turning ... [+]
Key Facts
Navarro reported to the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in Miami Tuesday to begin serving the sentence, after the Supreme Court on Monday rejected his appeal.
Navarro reprised his claim that his conversations with Trump were subject to “executive privilege” while speaking to reporters outside of the facility Tuesday.
Navarro used the same argument to contest his conviction for defying a subpoena from Congress in its investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, claiming he was protected by “executive privilege.”
Supreme Court Justice John Roberts said in his Tuesday ruling he had “no basis to disagree” with a previous court’s determination that executive privilege, had Trump invoked it, would not have allowed him to defy the subpoena.
Navarro told reporters he enters his prison sentence “proudly” and with “strength” knowing Trump is the nominee.
Crucial Quote
“When I walk in that prison today, the justice system, such as it is, will have done a crippling blow to the constitutional separation of powers and executive privilege,” Navarro said.
Key Background
Navarro was convicted in September on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to testify and provide documents to the House Jan. 6 committee related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Navarro, a former trade advisor, was the co-architect of a plan known as the “Green Bay Sweep” to contest the results in battleground states, and he authored a report making false allegations of widespread voter fraud. He was sentenced to four months in prison and a $9,500 fine in January—a lighter sentence than the six months and $200,000 the Justice Department sought—but it exceeded his lawyers’ request for six months of probation and a $200 fine.