Trial opens for Trump White House adviser charged with refusing to cooperate with Jan. 6 Committee
WJXT
WASHINGTON A White House adviser to President Donald Trump acted as if he were "above the law when he refused to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, prosecutors argued Wednesday as his trial got underway.
Peter Navarro, charged with two counts of contempt of Congress, didn't ignore the House Jan. 6 Committee, instead telling members to contact Trump about what might be protected by executive privilege, Navarro's attorney said. A judge has found the privilege argument alone isnt a defense against the charges because Navarro couldnt show evidence that Trump had invoked it.
Navarro, a senior trade adviser, was subpoenaed in February 2022 by the House panel investigating how and why a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and interrupted the certification of the presidential vote for Joe Biden. Navarro had promoted Trumps baseless claims of mass voter fraud, and the committee thought he might have more information about any connection those claims had to the attack, prosecutor John Crabb said.
