Supreme Court rejects Peter Navarro's last-ditch effort to avoid prison

March 19 (UPI) -- Former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro has been ordered to report to a Miami federal prison Tuesday afternoon, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his last-ditch effort to remain free during appeal of his contempt of Congress conviction.

In a one-page order, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Monday that he would not delay Navarro's four-month sentence for defying a House Jan. 6 select committee subpoena.

"This application concerns only the question of whether the applicant, Peter Navarro, has met his burden to establish his entitlement to relief under the Bail Reform Act," Roberts wrote, adding an appeals court determined that Navarro "forfeited" any argument to challenge the district court's conclusion, which found executive privilege was not invoked by former President Donald Trump.

"I see no basis to disagree with the determination that Navarro forfeited those arguments in the release proceeding, which is distinct from his pending appeal on the merits," Roberts wrote.

Navarro, 74, issued a statement Monday in response to Roberts' decision, vowing to continue his appeal.

"Justice Roberts took care to note that his reason for denial was 'distinct from pending appeal on the merits.' That appeal on the merits will continue," Navarro promised, "and if I fail in that appeal -- after nonetheless serving my full prison term -- the constitutional separation of powers will be irreparably damaged and the doctrine of executive privilege dating back to George Washington will cease to function as an important safeguard for effective presidential decision-making. There is much at stake here and it is worth the fight."

Navarro was convicted in September on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to testify and for refusing to provide documents to the committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Navarro asked two lower courts to delay jail time as he appeals his conviction. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta -- who presided over Navarro's trial -- and a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his request. Navarro immediately filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

Roberts oversaw Navarro's emergency request Monday because the chief justice handles emergency matters that come from the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals.

While Navarro repeatedly argued that Trump asserted executive privilege, making him exempt from the committee's subpoena, Mehta and the appeals court said they found "no evidence" that Trump had done so.