Supreme Court Rejects Trump Adviser Peter Navarro’s Bid To Stay Out Of Prison For A Second Time

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected former Trump adviser Peter Navarro‘s bid to stay out of prison while he appeals his conviction for evading a congressional subpoena. 

Navarro, 74, was charged with two counts of contempt of Congress after he refused to cooperate with the House January 6 committee investigating the Capitol Riot. Navarro failed to provide documents to the committee and refused to testify. Navarro cited former President Donald Trump‘s executive privilege to maintain confidentiality. However, there is no evidence that Trump ever asserted the privilege or that it would apply in this case.

This is Navarro’s second attempt to stay out of prison. In March, Chief Justice John Roberts denied Navarro’s first request. Navarro was ordered to report to a federal prison in Miami on March 19. Navarro renewed his request to Justice Neil Gorsuch. The motion was brought to a full court for a vote. Previously, Roberts denied Navarro’s first request alone.

Navarro was sentenced to six months in prison with a fine of $600,000 by District Judge Amit Mehta. Mehta shut down several of Navarro’s claims about his incarceration, including political bias. 

In defense of his motion, Navarro claimed he did not pose a flight risk and was not a danger to public safety. Navarro attempted to use executive privilege during his trial to defend his actions. 

“This is the partisan weaponization of our judicial system,” Navarro stated in March before he was sent to prison. 

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon also faced two counts of contempt of Congress. However, Bannon is free while waiting for his appeal. In March, Bannon criticized Trump for reversing his view on a bill to force the sale of the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.