Peter Navarro, a former White House aide to former President Donald Trump, reported to a federal prison in Miami, making history as the first former White House official to be held in contempt of Congress.
Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison for his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 US Capitol attack.
As a result, before reporting to prison, Navarro spoke for 30 minutes at a gas station and called the case against him an “unprecedented attack on the constitutional separation of powers.”
He claimed that the legal tactics that were used against him would be used against Trump: “I’m upset – that’s what I’m feeling right now.” Navarro concluded: “God bless you all, see you on the other side.”
His conviction was a rare example of a member of Trump’s inner circle being held accountable by the criminal justice system for his resistance to scrutiny. Navarro’s time in prison comes as Trump himself has yet to face criminal consequences for the various crimes he has been accused of committing.
“It’s historic and it will be for future White House aides who are subpoenaed by Congress,” said Stanley Brand, former House general counsel who now represents Navarro as one of his defense lawyers, on Monday (18).
Punishing Navarro for evading a House investigation will increase the leverage lawmakers will have — under administrations of both parties — to ensure cooperation in their investigations.
