WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has upheld former Trump adviser Peter Navarro’s convictions for contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with subpoenas issued by the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Tuesday that Navarro failed to establish that then-President Donald Trump had invoked executive privilege to shield him from the committee’s demands for testimony and documents.
Navarro, who served as a trade adviser during Trump’s first administration and returned to the White House in a senior trade role, had argued that executive privilege prevented him from complying with the subpoena. The appeals court rejected that defense, concluding that the lower court had correctly determined that Trump had not invoked the privilege on Navarro’s behalf.
The court also addressed the broader argument that an invocation of executive privilege would have excused Navarro’s refusal to cooperate. Judge Patricia Millett wrote that, even if the privilege had been invoked, it would not have justified Navarro’s categorical failure to comply with the committee’s subpoena.
A federal jury convicted Navarro in 2023 on two counts of contempt of Congress after he refused to provide documents and appear for a deposition before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. The Justice Department said at the time that the subpoena required Navarro to produce documents and testify before the committee.
Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison and has completed that term. He continued to challenge the conviction, maintaining that his actions were protected by executive privilege. His lawyer has indicated that Navarro plans to pursue further legal avenues following the appeals court ruling.
The ruling leaves Navarro’s contempt convictions intact after the latest appellate review. The case centers on the limits of executive privilege and the authority of Congress to compel testimony and documents from former presidential advisers.
