Judge denies Navarro's effort to dismiss contempt of Congress charges

Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A federal judge has dismissed a last-ditch effort by former President Donald Trump aide Peter Navarro to have contempt of Congress charges filed against him dismissed.

Navarro, a senior advisor to former President Donald Trump during the four years of his administration, was indicted in June on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a February subpoena seeking records and testimony.

The subpoena was served by the now-defunct House select committing charged with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on Congress. The committee, which dissolved with the end of the 117th Congress in the new year, believed that Navarro had information pertinent to its probe.

Navarro has sought to have the two charges against him dismissed, arguing Trump had invoked executive privilege in the matter, but Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District of Court for the District of Columbia ruled Thursday that he failed to prove that the former president had used his powers to shield him from giving testimony and handing over the requested documents.

"Defendant has failed to come forward with any evidence to support the claimed assertion of privilege," Mehta, a President Barack Obama appointee, wrote in his ruling. "And, because the claimed assertion of executive privilege is unproven, Defendant cannot avoid prosecution for contempt."

According to court documents, Navarro states that Trump had privately instructed him to assert executive privilege before the select committee.

However, Mehta states that Navarro offers no proof to support this claim, stating "he has offered neither a sworn affidavit nor testimony from him or the former president. "

"His contention rests only on his counsel's representations, which are not evidence," he wrote.

Mehta continued that even if the court accepted that there was conservation on the matter between Trump and Navarro, it wouldn't be enough to sustain the defendant's burden of proof, stating that they do not know when the conversation occurred, its contents or even if it directly related to the select committee's subpoena.

The absence of proof, he said, is further highlighted by the fact that Trump gave letters to former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Deputy Chief of Staff Daniel Scavino -- both of whom were also subpoenaed by the committee -- instructing them to invoke immunities and executive privileges.

"Had the President issued a similar letter to Defendant, the record here would look very different," Mehta wrote.

The ruling means that Navarro will have to stand trial for the two counts of contempt of Congress. If convicted, he faces a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one-year incarceration and a $100,000 fine for each count.