A federal court judge sentenced a former Trump White House official to four months in jail for ignoring a House committee subpoena.
Peter Navarro, a former economic advisor to former President Donald Trump, was convicted last September on two counts of contempt of Congress when he refused to turn over documents or appear for a deposition before the House Select Committee investigating the events surrounding January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.
In his defense, Navarro claimed that he should have been covered by Trump’s executive privilege, as reported by Fox News. Furthermore, Navarro requested a new trial as he claimed that the jury that convicted him may have been influenced by protesters outside the D.C. courthouse when they exited the building for a break shortly before delivering the guilty verdict.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta rejected both arguments during Thursday’s sentencing hearing, expressing bewilderment over why Navarro did not cooperate with the committee or produce sufficient legal arguments for ignoring the committee’s requests.
“I have made clear my confusion about his arrest when he could have been offered self-surrender. … The idea that he is subject to a two-tiered system of justice when he’s sitting here with four very capable lawyers is a real head-scratcher,” the judge said, per Fox News. “The words ‘executive privilege’ are not magical dust … it’s not a ‘get out of jail free’ card. To not engage with the committee to work through the issues, … to simply not engage, there’s no basis for it.”
Navarro answered that he held an “honest belief” that Trump had invoked executive privilege, though the trial judge barred him from making that argument.
“I am disappointed with a process where a jury convicted me, and I was unable to provide a defense, one of the most important elements of our justice system,” Navarro added, per Fox News.
According to Navarro’s lawyers, whether executive privilege applies to their client will be a matter for the appeals court.
Prosecutors had asked for a six-month sentence to be imposed, as well as a hefty $200,000 fine. Judge Mehta handed down a sentence that was two months shorter, but the fine he imposed was only $9,500. Mehta expressed sympathy for Navarro but claimed he could not be more lenient.
“I have a great deal of respect for your client and what he accomplished, and that makes it more disappointing,” Mehta said, per Fox News.
Many on social media compared Navarro’s treatment to that being received by Hunter Biden, who also defied a congressional subpoena, suggesting that there was a two-tier justice system at work.
That was the assessment of another of Trump’s former advisors, Sebastian Gorka, who posted on X, “Peter Navarro has been sentenced to 4 months in prison for refusing to testify before Pelosi’s illegal J6 committee. Hunter Biden is walking around a free man. The Police-State has arrived.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) called Navarro’s sentence “a stain on our justice system.”
“Peter is just the latest political prisoner under Joe Biden. I hope this is a wake-up call to the weak Republicans who are sitting on the sidelines while liberal activists prosecute MAGA,” Gaetz posted.