On Thursday, September 7, a federal jury found Peter Navarro — a former economic adviser for the Trump Administration — guilty on two contempt of Congress charges.
Navarro, in 2022, openly defied a subpoena from the January 6 Select Committee. And during his trial, Navarro maintained that Donald Trump's executive privilege powers as president prevented him from testifying. But the jury didn't buy that explanation. Navarro faces up to two years in prison.
In an opinion column published by MSNBC's website on September 7, Rachel Maddow producer Steve Benen emphasizes that Benen's case must be viewed as part of the "broader culture of lawlessness that's surrounded Trump in recent years."
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"There's an astonishing number of people in Donald Trump's orbit who've been convicted of crimes in recent years, to the point that the Washington Post described it as the 'remarkable universe of criminality' surrounding the former president," Benen explains. "Today, as my MSNBC colleague Jordan Rubin reported, the list got a little longer."
The long list of Trump allies who have faced criminal charges, Benen notes, includes Paul Manafort (Trump's 2016 campaign manager), Allen Weisselberg (the Trump Organization's long-time chief financial officer), Steve Bannon (former White House chief strategist in the Trump Administration), Michael Flynn (former national security adviser) and George Papadopoulos (a former Trump campaign adviser).
"Navarro, in other words, has plenty of company," Benen argues. "To be sure, some of the aforementioned men were ultimately pardoned by Trump, who doled out pardons as if they were party favors before exiting the Oval Office, but this doesn't change the scope of the broader picture."
Benen adds, "What's more, it's important to emphasize that Trump himself is also facing four criminal indictments across three jurisdictions, his 'law and order' rhetoric notwithstanding."
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Steve Benen's full MSNBC opinion column is available at this link.