Conservative watchdog urges appeals court to revisit Peter Navarro contempt conviction

A conservative watchdog, the Oversight Project, has lodged an amicus brief with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals requesting that the full bench revisit the ruling that upheld Peter Navarro’s contempt of Congress conviction. Navarro, who served as an adviser to President Donald Trump, spent four months in prison after refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.

He contends that executive privilege protected his counsel on a strategy to delay certification of the 2020 election. A three-judge panel, comprising two Obama appointees and one Biden appointee, previously affirmed the conviction. The brief asserts that the case presents a critical separation-of-powers issue and questions whether a citizen can be criminally charged for ignoring a congressional subpoena without knowing it was unlawful. Jeff Clark, director of litigation for the Oversight Project, described the matter as “exceptionally important,” and the organization is seeking an en banc rehearing.