The Supreme Court has denied Peter Navarro’s request for release from prison while he appeals his conviction for contempt of Congress. The former Trump adviser’s plea was rejected on Monday.
The court denied Navarro’s request to be spared from serving his four-month sentence for the second time.
Navarro was incarcerated on March 19th, following Chief Justice John Roberts’ agreement with a lower court’s ruling that denied Navarro’s appeal to stay free.
Navarro’s lawyers have recently requested the court to reconsider Roberts’ decision, which was made fifteen days ago. They have highlighted the fact that Navarro’s appeal will not be heard until after he has served his sentence.
He is currently serving his sentence at a satellite camp for elderly male inmates in Miami, as part of the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Navarro faced legal consequences in September after he refused to cooperate with the House committee investigating the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. He was convicted for both his refusal to testify and failure to provide requested documents.
Navarro, a former trade adviser, has consistently claimed that he was unable to cooperate with the House inquiry due to former President Donald Trump asserting executive privilege to keep their communications confidential. However, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has found no evidence supporting Navarro’s claim that Trump had indeed asserted executive privilege.
According to Judge Amit Mehta, even if Trump had invoked executive privilege, Navarro was still required to appear before the committee and decline to answer certain questions.
Navarro contended that he should be allowed to remain free during his appeal since there is little chance of him fleeing the country and he does not pose a threat to public safety. Moreover, he emphasized that his appeal raises crucial issues that could potentially overturn his conviction, such as the definition of a “proper” invocation of executive privilege.
The Jan. 6 committee sought to interview Navarro due to his account in the 2021 book “In Trump Time.” In the book, Navarro referred to the scheme to delay the certification of President Joe Biden’s election as the “Green Bay Sweep.” He characterized this scheme as the Democrats’ “last, best chance to snatch a stolen election from the Democrats’ jaws of deceit.”
During an interview, Navarro confirmed that Trump was fully supportive of the strategy, as reported by the committee.
Steve Bannon, a former political strategist for Trump, has also chosen not to cooperate with the committee. He was found guilty of contempt of Congress and has been sentenced to four months in jail. However, he is currently free as he appeals the conviction.
The Supreme Court has denied yet another request by Peter Navarro, a former advisor to Donald Trump, to be released from jail.
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