Peter Navarro, a political aide to former President Donald Trump, is now in jail for contempt of Congress. This makes him the first former Trump aide to land in jail for efforts related to trying to steal the 2020 election.
Navarro, 74, is facing four months in prison for defying subpoenas from the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack. He was defiant before eventually surrendering at the federal correctional institution in Miami, a low-security facility.
“When I walk in that prison today, the justice system – such as it is – will have done a crippling blow to the constitutional separation of powers and executive privilege,” Navarro said.
He is not the first man of substance to carry out his sentencing in the facility. It was previously home to Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega, boy band creator Lou Pearlman, and NFL safety Darren Sharper.
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Navarro would prefer to remain free if he had his way while he appeals his conviction and sentence. However, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts refused to step in on Monday. He said he had “no basis to disagree” with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals or U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.
Navarro contends Trump invoked executive privilege to prevent him from testifying or providing documents about confidential administration communications.
However, Mehta ruled that there was no evidence that Trump asserted the privilege at the time. Even if he had, Mehta said Navarro was obligated to appear before the committee to refuse to answer specific questions.
Prosecutors argued that Navarro deserved no shield from testifying, even if Trump had asserted the privilege. After all, what the lawmakers wanted to ask about was his campaign activities, not government policy.
The January 6 committee started investigating Navarro based on what he wrote in his 2021 book, “In Trump Time.”
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There was something about the scheme that delayed President Biden’s election certification. Navarro described it as the “Green Bay Sweep,” saying it was the “last, best chance to snatch a stolen election from the Democrats’ jaws of deceit.”
According to the committee, Navarro admitted in a later interview that Trump was “on board with the strategy.” Another Trump aide, political strategist Steve Bannon, also refused to cooperate with the committee. He is also facing four months in jail after his conviction, but he remains free on appeal.
Navarro will be held at the federal Bureau of Prisons satellite camp for elderly male inmates, located next to a zoo. He will also be able to consult a “prison consultant” to ease his transition.
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“Not only can you hear the lions … you can hear the lions roar every morning,” Sam Mangel, Navarro’s prison consultant, told CNN.
“He’s nervous,” Mangel said about Navarro. “Anybody, regardless of the length of their sentence, is going into an unknown world.”
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