A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld convictions against Peter Navarro, a White House adviser, for contempt of Congress. The court determined that Navarro failed to produce records and comply with a subpoena issued by the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack.
Navarro had claimed that former President Donald Trump invoked executive privilege to shield him from the subpoena’s requirements. However, the appeals court found that Navarro could not substantiate this claim and therefore could not use it as a defense. Judge Patricia Millett, writing for the panel, stated that Navarro acknowledged his categorical failure to comply with the subpoena regardless of whether executive privilege had been properly invoked.
Navarro, who served as a trade adviser during Trump’s first term and holds a similar position during the current administration, has already served a four-month prison sentence related to the conviction. He was charged with contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with the House committee’s March 2022 subpoena demanding documents and testimony. A jury in Washington convicted him of two counts in September 2023, and he reported to a federal prison facility in Miami in early 2024.
Following his release from prison, Navarro made an appearance at the Republican National Convention where he spoke to supporters. The appeals court panel included judges nominated by both Democratic and Republican administrations, with two judges appointed by former President Barack Obama and one by President Joe Biden.