Peter Navarro on January 25, 2024, after he was sentenced to four months in prison for flouting a committee subpoena. Bryan Olin Dozier/Zuma
Straight from jail, Peter Navarro told the Republican National Convention Wednesday: “I went to prison so you won’t have to.”
The former Trump White House trade advisor, who peddled phony election fraud claims in late 2020, in fact went to prison for contempt of Congress. Subpoenaed by the January 6 House committee, Navarro completely blew them off. He took the position that his own assertion of executive privilege relieved him from having to wrangle with the committee, a stance no American court has yet endorsed.
You actually don’t have to go prison as long as you pay a bit more attention to the law than the famously self-regarding Dr. Navarro, who is not a lawyer, but tried to play one in court. Executive privilege is real, but again, it is not magic.
Navarro declared Wednesday that the January 6 committee “demanded that I violate executive privilege,” but he “refused.” In fact, Navarro never produced any evidence that Trump asserted privilege to block him from appearing. Notably, Trump’s lawyers declined to confirm Navarro’s version of events. Navarro went to prison, in part, because Trump refused.
Navarro in his remarks also cited Steve Bannon, who was similarly imprisoned for contempt of Congress after refusing to negotiate at all with the January 6 committee after being hit with a subpoena. (Navarro did not name the exiled Chinese mogul Guo Wengui, who with Bannon launched a supposed government-in-waiting to replace the Chinese Communist Party. Navarro nominally worked for Guo and Bannon’s organization as an international ambassador. Guo was convicted Tuesday of using the group as a means to run a racketeering conspiracy that stole hundreds of millions of dollars from his supporters. Navarro wasn’t charged in the case.)
But Navarro’s depiction of himself as martyr to Democratic “lawfare” reinforced a key convention myth: A man who has vowed to use the Justice Department and other powers of the presidency to jail political foes is a victim of politicized prosecution.
“If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, they can come for you,” Navarro declared.
This supposed threat, Navarro said, requires Republicans to seize control of “all three branches of our government.”
Navarro told the Associated Press earlier on Wednesday that he planned to call for “unity.” On stage, however, he went in a different direction, urging the GOP to use the power they hope to win for retribution against their enemies.
With a note of menace, Navarro blamed Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has worked to restore the Justice Department’s nonpartisan reputation, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the widely respected judge (and former defense attorney) who sentenced to four months in prison for contempt him as responsible for his imprisonment.
“Amit Mehta,” Navarro said. “Keep your eye on him.”
On election day, Navarro added, “America will hold these lawfare jackals accountable.”
