Former top Trump White House aide Peter Navarro has been indicted by a grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress, according to court documents.
The contempt indictment stems from the former top trade official’s refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the assault on the Capitol that took place on Jan. 6, 2021. Navarro said earlier this week that he had received a subpoena from the top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., to testify before a grand jury and to turn over records related to the Capitol assault.
Navarro, 72, made his first appearance in federal court Friday afternoon, after the indictment was unsealed Friday. He told the court that he was detained Friday morning by authorities at Reagan National Airport, where he was going to board a flight to Nashville.
The House Select Committee examining the Jan. 6 attack and the events leading up to it first issued a subpoena to Navarro for records and testimony in early February. Investigators believe Navarro worked with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and others to craft a plan to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The February request from the House committee also notes that in his book, Navarro described the plan as the “Green Bay Sweep” and wrote it was “the last, best chance to snatch a stolen election from the Democrats’ jaws of deceit.”
The select committee issued a subpoena to Navarro in February, requiring him to produce documents and appear before the committee in March, but Navarro declined to do either.
One count applies to his refusal to turn over documents, and the other count applies to his refusal to appear to testify. If convicted, each count of contempt of Congress would mean a minimum 30-day jail sentence for Navarro, as well as a fine of up to $100,000, according to the Justice Department.
Another former top adviser to Trump, Steven Bannon, was also indicted last year on contempt of Congress charges.
This is a developing story.
— CBS News’ Scott MacFarlane, Andres Triay and Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.
