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   Former Trump adviser Navarro convicted of contempt of Congress   
   By Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch   
   September 7, 202310:04 PM EDTUpdated 15 hours ago   
      
   WASHINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump's trade   
   adviser Peter Navarro was found guilty on Thursday of contempt of Congress   
   for defying a subpoena from the House of Representatives committee that   
   investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol.   
      
   A 12-member jury convicted Navarro on two counts of contempt after he   
   refused to testify or turn over documents to the Democratic-led House   
   panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 riot by Trump supporters and   
   broader attempts by Trump, a Republican, to reverse his 2020 election   
   defeat.   
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   Navarro, a hawk on China policy who advised Trump on trade issues during   
   his presidency and also served on the COVID-19 task force, became the   
   second close associate of Trump to be convicted for spurning the   
   committee. Steve Bannon was found guilty last year of contempt of Congress   
   for similarly defying a subpoena and was sentenced to four months in   
   prison. Bannon is now appealing the conviction.   
      
   Navarro said ahead of his trial that he did not have to comply with the   
   subpoena because Trump had invoked executive privilege, a legal doctrine   
   that shields some executive branch records and communications from   
   disclosure.   
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   But U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Navarro could not use this   
   as a defense, finding that the defendant had not presented evidence that   
   Trump formally invoked executive privilege in response to the subpoena.   
   Defense lawyer Stanley Woodward was left to argue that Navarro's failure   
   to comply may have been an accident or a mistake.   
      
   Navarro, wearing a dark suit and red tie, showed no visible reaction when   
   the verdict was read aloud following about five hours of jury   
   deliberations. His lawyer said he would appeal.   
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   "The day that Judge Mehta ruled that I could not use executive privilege   
   as the defense in this case, the die was cast," Navarro told reporters   
   outside the courthouse.   
      
   The charges carry a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail.   
   Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 12.   
      
   Navarro said he did not call Trump as a witness because the front-runner   
   for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination was "fighting four   
   different indictments in three different jurisdictions. We chose not to go   
   there."   
      
   The verdict in federal court in Washington followed a trial with just one   
   day of testimony from three prosecution witnesses, former staff members of   
   the House committee. The defense did not call any witnesses or present any   
   evidence.   
      
   [1/3]Peter Navarro, a White House economic adviser under former U.S.   
   President Donald Trump, speaks to reporters outside the E. Barrett   
   Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, U.S., September 5, 2023.   
   REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson Acquire Licensing Rights   
      
   "The defendant chose allegiance to former President Trump over compliance   
   with the subpoena," federal prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi told the jurors   
   during closing arguments earlier on Thursday. "That is contempt. That is a   
   crime."   
   'NOT OVER BY A LONG SHOT'   
      
   Navarro's lawyers sought a mistrial following the verdict, claiming jurors   
   were allowed outside the courthouse for a break and encountered protesters   
   angry over the Capitol riot. Mehta declined to rule on the request without   
   additional information about what had transpired.   
      
   Navarro lawyer John Rowley told reporters the case posed important legal   
   issues that would need to be decided on appeal.   
      
   "This case is not over by a long shot," Rowley said.   
      
   The verdict represented a victory for the Justice Department and the now-   
   defunct select committee, which moved aggressively to secure testimony   
   from Trump advisers before being disbanded when Republicans took control   
   of the House in January.   
      
   Many of the committee's findings were mirrored in a federal indictment   
   obtained by Special Counsel Jack Smith accusing Trump of attempting to   
   subvert the election results.   
      
   The panel sought to interview Navarro about a plan devised by him and   
   other Trump allies, dubbed the "Green Bay Sweep," to delay Congress from   
   certifying Democratic President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. The   
   committee concluded its work last year without interviewing Navarro.   
      
   Navarro had said publicly that he was protecting the presidency by not   
   sharing information with Congress.   
      
   Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on the day that Congress met to   
   certify Biden's victory, attacking police and sending lawmakers and others   
   fleeing for safety. Trump has made false claims that the election was   
   stolen from him through widespread voting fraud.   
      
   Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Will Dunham   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)