Trump's former adviser is serving a four-month prison sentence

2024-03-20 10:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Trump's former adviser is serving a four-month prison sentence

Peter Navarro

Former White House adviser Peter Navarro reported to prison Tuesday to serve a four-month sentence. He was found guilty of contempt of Congress, becoming the first senior official who served during President Trump's administration to be jailed for a crime related to the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol.

Mr Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison for defying a subpoena to testify and hand over documents before a House committee investigating the 2021 riots at the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump.

Before surrendering at a federal prison in Miami, Mr. Navarro told reporters that his conviction "showed the exploitation of the judicial system for political purposes."

He maintained that he could not cooperate with the commission since former President Trump had the immunity of the executive branch. But the courts have rejected this argument, saying Mr Navarro could not prove his claim.

"When I show up in that prison today, today's justice system will have dealt a crippling blow to the constitutional separation of powers and executive privilege," Mr. Navarro told reporters. After voting in Florida on Tuesday, Mr Trump was asked about Mr Navarro's case.

"He is a good man. He was treated very unfairly," Mr. Trump said, calling him a "great patriot" and praising his work in trade negotiations with China. "President Biden's administration treated him very badly. It's embarrassing, but that's the way it is."

Navarro, who served as White House trade adviser under President Trump, was subpoenaed to testify by a House committee on fueling false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election in the run-up to the riots at the Capitol. .

Mr. Navarro had asked to stay out of jail while he appeals the sentence to give the courts time to consider his challenge. But a federal appeals court in Washington denied his request, saying the appeal was unlikely to overturn his conviction.

US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday declined to get involved in the case, saying in a written statement that he had "no basis to disagree" with the appeals court. Mr Roberts said this did not affect the final outcome of Mr Navarro's appeal.

Mr. Navarro is the second aide to Mr. Trump convicted of contempt of Congress. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was previously sentenced to four months in prison, but another judge allowed him to remain free pending an appeal.

A House committee conducted an 18-month investigation into the riots at the Capitol, interviewing more than 1,000 witnesses, holding 10 hearings and securing documents exceeding 1 million pages.

In its final report, the commission concluded that Mr. Trump was criminally involved in a "multi-part conspiracy" to overturn the election results and failed to act to stop his supporters from storming the Capitol.

Special prosecutor Jack Smith has charged Mr. Trump with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. That case is pending as the Supreme Court weighs Mr. Trump's claim that he enjoys immunity from prosecution. The Supreme Court plans to hear arguments on this issue next month./VOA