Former Trump advisor Peter Navarro loses bid to stay out of prison during appeal

08 February 2024

Peter Navarro – who was a trade official in former President Donald Trump's administration — will have to appeal his conviction from behind bars after a Thursday ruling from a federal judge.

US District Judge Amit Mehta, of the District of Columbia, denied Navarro's bid to pause his four-month prison sentence while he appealed his guilty verdict in a federal contempt case. This means the 74-year-old will officially be the first Trump administration official to be incarcerated in a federal prison.

"Unless this order is stayed or vacated by the DC Circuit, Defendant shall report to the designated Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility on the date ordered by the BOP," Mehta wrote. According to the Hill, the date Navarro will report to prison has yet to be specified by the BOP. The former Trump adviser will also have to pay a $9,500 fine.

Navarro was initially found guilty of contempt for defying a subpoena from the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, which Navarro derisively called a "kangaroo court" during his trial. The January 6 committee initially subpoenaed Navarro in order to obtain knowledge about his efforts to come up with a plan that would help Trump stay in power despite losing the 2020 election.

However, Navarro argued that he didn't have to comply with the subpoena since Trump asserted executive privilege over the requested materials, which prompted the committee to hold him in contempt and refer the matter to the Department of Justice for prosecution. His contempt trial lasted just one day.

"You are not a victim. You are not the object of a political prosecution. You are not," Judge Mehta told Navarro during his sentencing hearing last month. "You have received every process you are due. Every process."

Navarro's failure to remain out of prison on appeal is somewhat surprising, given that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was able to stay free while his attorneys appealed his own respective contempt conviction in 2022. Like Navarro, Bannon received a four-month prison sentence.

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