A federal appeals court upheld the criminal conviction of Peter Navarro, a former White House adviser during Donald Trump's administration, for defying a subpoena from the congressional committee that investigated the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, AP reported.
The decision represents a new setback for Navarro, who for several years has maintained that the then president ordered him to avail himself of executive privilege to not deliver documents or appear before legislators. However, the court concluded that there is no evidence that such an instruction was issued.
Court rejects executive privilege
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Navarro's appeal and upheld the 2023 sentence.
Judge Patricia Millett, author of the court's opinion, noted that Navarro invoked executive privilege even before knowing the contents of the subpoena and refused to cooperate with the legislative committee's investigation.
Furthermore, the justices considered that some of the information requested by Congress could not be protected by that privilege, even if it had been formally invoked.
Navarro will seek to take the case to another instance
The former official was found guilty in 2023 and served a four-month prison sentence in 2024. Despite this, his defense announced that he will continue to appeal the case considering that it has implications for the relationship between the Executive Branch and Congress.
“He intends to proceed quickly with his appeal because his case affects all high-level presidential advisors,” said Abhishek Kambli, Navarro's lawyer.
The court also recalled that Donald Trump never publicly confirmed having ordered Navarro to invoke executive privilege during the January 6 investigation, an element that weakened the former adviser's defense.
Along with Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro is one of the few members of Trump's inner circle who have received criminal convictions related to investigations arising from the events that occurred after the 2020 presidential election.
