Former senior Trump adviser Peter Navarro will go to trial after a federal judge denied his motion to dismiss two contempt of Congress charges stemming from his refusal to provide documents and sit for a deposition before the Jan. 6 committee. Navarro argued his “hands [were] tied” after Trump invoked executive privileges—an alibi that neither the court, or Congress, found convincing. “Even if President Trump did direct Defendant not to appear before the Select Committee, he was a private citizen at the time without ‘actual authority to approve the defendant’s criminal activity,’” U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta wrote in his decision. When asked to prove that Trump had extended executive privileges to him, Navarro could not, the judge said. “The court cannot dismiss an indictment for contempt of Congress on the mere presumption that President Trump would have asserted executive privilege if only he had been asked,” Mehta wrote.
