Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump‘s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, has escalated his dispute with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) by filing a lawsuit over the indictment brought against him for contempt of Congress related to the January 6 Committee on Sunday.
The Justice Department has disavowed its role in his indictment, which led to a four-month stay in a minimum-security prison, but Navarro argued the department cannot disentangle itself from the charge that led to his imprisonment.
Newsweek reached out to the DOJ by email outside of normal business hours on Sunday evening for comment.
Why It Matters
Navarro refused to appear before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, known as the January 6 Committee. He and Steve Bannon were each held in contempt of Congress and imprisoned for four months after the DOJ prosecuted them.
Former Trump advisers Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino also were held in criminal contempt of Congress, but the DOJ didn’t prosecute them.
Navarro tried to appeal his case to the Supreme Court, but the justices declined to hear his case.
The DOJ also dropped a case against Navarro, in which he is accused of using an unofficial email account for government work and wrongfully retaining presidential records during the first Trump administration.
What To Know
Navarro has argued that his status as a senior presidential adviser to Trump during the first administration should have protected him from the contempt charges – mainly because the president had invoked executive privilege on the case, which Navarro believes made it impossible for him to testify before the committee.
However, appeals courts determined that Navarro never invoked that privilege ahead of the contempt charge.
The DOJ has said that it no longer stands behind the arguments that led to Navarro’s conviction, but Navarro is keen to keep the department involved in order to determine “the separation of powers this case presents.”
In a 13-page brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Navarro and his lawyers say the sudden reversal, for which the DOJ has only said it has “determined it is not longer taking the same position as the prior administration” on the case, is unacceptable.
The filing asserts that the case has “extraordinary constitutional implications” about the separation of powers and whether a White House adviser can be criminally prosecuted for resisting congressional subpoena.
“The Department of Justice should not be allowed to disavow, without explanation or acknowledgment of its reasons, the positions it has pursued in this case for more than three years,” the filing states.
“Without such an explanation, the Court and the Appellant are left to speculate whether the decision rests on principled legal grounds or on other, less appropriate, considerations,” Navarro and his lawyers argue.
“For these reasons, the Court should deny the Department’s motion to strike its brief unless and until it provides a full and particularized statement of its reasons for abandoning its previously held position,” the filing continued.
“If the Court nevertheless grants the motion, it should first require the Department to set forth those reasons on the record before considering whether to appoint an amicus curiae as substitute counsel for the Department.”
What People Are Saying
Peter Navarro in August wrote on X: “U.S. v. Peter Navarro is a landmark case of first impression. At stake: executive privilege & the very doctrine of constitutional separation of powers. This is SCOTUS-level “good law” waiting to be settled. DOJ flipped position on Friday and it’s HUGE — Keep reading now!”
President Donald Trump posted this message on Truth Social in 2024 when nominating Navarro: “I am pleased to announce that Peter Navarro, a man who was treated horribly by the Deep State, or whatever else you would like to call it, will serve as my Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing. During my First Term, few were more effective or tenacious than Peter in enforcing my two sacred rules, Buy American, Hire American. He helped me renegotiate unfair Trade Deals like NAFTA and the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), and moved every one of my Tariff and Trade actions FAST….”
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
The post Peter Navarro Sues Justice Department Amid Ongoing Dispute appeared first on Newsweek.
