Peter Navarro will be released from prison on Wednesday after serving a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Soon after, Trump’s former White House trade adviser is expected to take the stage at the Republican National Convention, according to an email from former President Trump’s campaign.
An attorney for Navarro did not respond to questions about the timing of his departure from Miami federal prison, where he served time, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the Republican Party nomination event is taking place. However, the convention is scheduled to end Thursday night, just one day after Navarro’s sentence ends.
Navarro was convicted last year of two counts of contempt of Congress — one for failing to produce documents related to the investigation and another for ignoring his testimony before the House select committee that investigated the events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
He tried to stay out of prison while he appealed his conviction, but his last attempt to remain free was rejected by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in a rare “in-chamber” opinion on the eve of the start date of his prison sentence. .
Roberts was offered Navarro to avoid jail time because he handles emergency matters arising from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The chief justice said he denied Navarro’s request because the former Trump aide lost any argument challenging the district court’s conclusion that executive privilege was not invoked by Trump. He said the decision was different from Navarro’s pending appeal on the merits.
Trump’s granting of executive privilege to Navarro will likely play a central role in his appeal. The district judge at trial barred Navarro from using executive privilege as part of his defense after finding he failed to prove Trump invoked it in the first place.
Defense attorneys said the decision “damaged” their defense, and Navarro said he had an “honest belief” that executive privilege had been invoked.
“The purpose of this appeal is not to prevent the punishment that Dr. Navarro will have suffered, nor does this appeal seek to postpone the punishment he has already suffered during this period – on the contrary, its purpose is to decide an important question of federal law,” The Navarro’s lawyers wrote in their July 11 appeal order. “Specifically, this appeal presents a series of related questions concerning the role of executive privilege at the intersection of our separate but coequal branches of government.”
While in prison, Navarro received a visit from Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who described his father’s former adviser as being “in good spirits” and indicated that it was “important to show support.”
Trump himself said in May that he would “absolutely” rehire Navarro if he were reelected to the White House in November. Navarro said he does not want a pardon from Trump if he is re-elected, nor from President Biden.
“It is urgent that the Supreme Court does this,” Navarro said of his appeal on the day the sentencing began. “But the tragedy here is that, as I have not been released pending appeal, I will have already served my sentence before that is done.
“But that’s the price of living in Joe Biden’s America right now,” he added. “God bless you all. See you on the other side.”
A second former Trump White House aide, Steve Bannon, began his prison sentence for also evading the House’s January 6 committee on July 1.
Bannon was initially allowed by a trial judge to remain out of prison while he appealed his conviction, but after a federal appeals court upheld this, he was ordered to begin his term. The Supreme Court also rejected an emergency appeal from Bannon at the 11th hour.
Before reporting to federal prison in Connecticut, where he is serving his sentence, Bannon described himself as a “political prisoner.” His release is scheduled for October 29, just days before the presidential elections.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
