A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the contempt of Congress conviction of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, rejecting his claim that he was protected by executive privilege when he defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals marks another legal defeat for Navarro, who has continued fighting his conviction even after serving a four-month prison sentence in 2024. The court determined that Navarro failed to provide any evidence that President Trump had actually invoked executive privilege, and that he had asserted the claim unilaterally without consulting the president.
In the opinion authored by Judge Patricia Millett, the panel noted that Navarro asserted executive privilege before even seeing the subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating January 6. The court wrote: “Dr. Navarro first asserted executive privilege unilaterally without consulting with or receiving direction from President Trump.” The court also highlighted that Navarro pointed only to a three-minute phone call in February 2022 with Trump as evidence that the president told him to assert privilege, but provided no documentation of that claim. Both an attorney and an adviser for Trump who testified to a grand jury also said Trump never formally decided Navarro should be shielded.
Navarro was initially convicted in 2023 on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying the House committee’s demands for both documents and his testimony. The committee sought information about his public claims of plotting to block Congress from certifying Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election. Despite serving his sentence, Navarro has pursued his appeal as a matter of principle, arguing the case affects executive privilege law for all presidential advisers.
His attorney, Abhishek Kambli, said in a statement that Navarro “intends to move swiftly with his appeal because his case affects every senior presidential advisor, regardless of political party, who believes in good faith they cannot comply with a Congressional subpoena based on executive privilege.” The court’s ruling does not preclude Navarro from seeking review by the Supreme Court, though a prior petition to the high court was declined in December 2024.
A Contrasting Path for Steve Bannon
Navarro’s continued legal fight stands in stark contrast to that of Steve Bannon, another longtime Trump confidant who faced similar contempt charges for defying a January 6 committee subpoena. Bannon was convicted in 2022, served four months in prison in 2024, and initially had his conviction upheld on appeal in May 2024. However, the Trump administration’s Justice Department moved to dismiss Bannon’s charges entirely, wiping his slate clean. Navarro, by contrast, has refused to allow his case to be dismissed, insisting instead on fighting for a substantive legal victory that he hopes will reshape executive privilege precedent.
The appeals court panel noted that Trump has not granted Navarro a presidential pardon, despite offering widespread clemency to other January 6-related defendants and allies. Navarro and Bannon remain the only two members of Trump’s inner circle to face criminal consequences stemming from the aftermath of January 6 and Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Sources
- CNN — Details of the three-judge panel’s unanimous decision, Navarro’s executive privilege claims, and his attorney’s statement about continuing the appeal.
- Politico — Information about the court’s findings on Navarro’s unilateral assertion of privilege, the three-minute phone call, comparison to Bannon’s case, and Navarro’s conviction history.
- The Washington Post — Confirmation of the appeals court upholding the conviction and Navarro’s failed executive privilege defense.
