Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro has been indicted on contempt of Congress charges, based on courtroom paperwork unsealed Friday.
Navarro, 72, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday for contempt after snubbing a subpoena from the House committee investigating Jan. 6 looking for testimony and paperwork.
Court paperwork point out that the federal government requested that Navarro’s indictment be sealed till his “arrest operation is executed.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office instructed NBC News that Navarro “is in custody pending the courtroom look” later Friday.
“The occasions resulting in the charges within the Indictment have been the topic of public scrutiny and concern,” federal prosecutors wrote within the movement to maintain the case sealed till Navarro’s arrest. Public disclosure of the indictment, they wrote, “would give the Defendant the chance to flee, tamper with witnesses or proof, or take different steps to intervene with the legal case.”
Navarro was indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress, one for failing to supply papers, and one other for failing to supply testimony.
The grand jury indictment says that Navarro is a “personal citizen” and that he by no means appeared earlier than the Select Committee or requested for an extension of time after he was subpoenaed.
“In reality, NAVARRO had not communicated with the Select Committee in any means after receiving the subpoena on February 9, 2022,” the indictment alleges, till Feb. 27, when he claimed his “fingers are tied” as a result of former President Donald Trump invoked govt privilege.
The House voted to refer Navarro to the Justice Department for contempt in April. The committee has stated Navarro, a commerce adviser throughout the Trump administration, performed a key function “within the ex-president’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.”
Navarro stated govt privilege prevented him from speaking to the committee, and that he would solely achieve this if Trump gave him the inexperienced gentle to take action. The Jan. 6 committee has famous that Navarro has publicly boasted about his plans to upend the election outcomes and that he revealed a ebook final yr wherein he referred to the plan because the “Green Bay Sweep.” Navarro additionally stated publicly that Trump was “on board with the technique.”
Navarro filed swimsuit towards the House committee earlier this week, arguing the subpoenas must be dismissed. In the identical submitting, he stated he’d been subpoenaed to testify earlier than a federal grand jury this week and switch over paperwork associated to the Jan. 6 riot, together with “any communications with formal President Trump and/or his counsel or consultant.”
This is a breaking information story, please test again for updates.
