WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday rejected former Trump adviser Peter Navarro’s request to be released from prison while he appeals his conviction for contempt of Congress.
It was the second time the court refused to prevent Navarro from serving his four-month sentence.
Navarro was jailed March 19 after Chief Justice John Roberts said he saw no reason to disapprove of a lower court’s ruling rejecting Navarro’s request to remain free on appeal.
Fifteen days later, Navarro’s lawyers asked the court to reconsider Roberts’ decision. Lawyers stressed that Navarro’s contempt appeal won’t be heard until after he serves his sentence.
He is serving his sentence at a Federal Bureau of Prisons satellite camp for elderly male inmates in Miami.
Navarro was convicted in September for refusing to testify or provide documents to the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Navarro, a former trade adviser, argued that he could not cooperate with the House investigation because former President Donald Trump asserted executive privilege to keep their communications confidential. But U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found no evidence that Trump did that.
Even if Trump had done so, Mehta ruled that Navarro was obligated to appear before the committee to refuse to answer specific questions.
Navarro argued that he should remain free during his appeal because he is not likely to flee the country and poses no danger to public safety. He also said he raises questions in his appeal that could overturn his conviction, including what constitutes an “appropriate” invocation of executive privilege.
The Jan. 6 committee wanted to question Navarro because he had written, in his 2021 book “In Trump Time,” about the plan to delay the certification of President Joe Biden’s election. Navarro described the plan as the “Green Bay Sweep” and said it was “the last, best chance to snatch a stolen election from the jaws of Democratic deceit.”
Navarro said in a later interview that Trump was “on board with the strategy,” according to the committee.
Another Trump aide, political strategist Steve Bannon, also refused to cooperate with the committee. He was found guilty of contempt of Congress and also sentenced to four months in prison, but remains free on appeal.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court rules Trump aide Navarro must remain in jail during appeal.
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