Peter Navarro want to avoid of prison, please.
Trump’s White House econ crank got himself in a hot, hot mess when he chose to dress up as an attorney and inform Congress to get bent in action to a subpoena from the January 6 Select Committee in February of 2022. The committee had concerns about Navarro’s plot with putrefying podcaster Steve Bannon to reverse the 2020 election by postponing the accreditation on January 6 — a subject which might not perhaps be covered by executive opportunity.
Nevertheless, after rushing off a letter lecturing the committee on on the finer points of executive opportunity, Navarro just declined to appear or engage at all. In June of that year, he was stunned and chagrined to discover himself prosecuted for contempt of Congress. Apparently simply screaming advantage and sticking 2 middle fingers in the air doesn’t count as a genuine invocation. Who understood!
That’s a technique concern, obviously. Everyone understood — or everybody however Bannon and Navarro, at any rate. That’s why nearly everybody else had the sense to employ an attorney and after that appear to plead the Fifth or conjure up executive opportunity in action to particular concerns.
On the eve of Navarro’s trial, Trump’s attorney Evan Corcoran produced a letter professing to repeat his customer’s position that “as one of his senior advisors, you had an obligation to assert executive privilege on his behalf and fully comply with the principles of confidentiality stated above when you responded to the Committee’s subpoena.”
That was a little recognition all over once again, because Steve Bannon indicated simply such a generalized declaration from Trump’s counsel to validate his own rejection to work together with Congress. And undoubtedly, Navarro disappeared effective running this play than his friend. Like Judge Carl Nichols, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that there was no proof that Trump had actually conjured up opportunity at all, and even if he had, that wouldn’t have actually alleviated Navarro’s commitment to appear and decline to respond to particular concerns, much less produce files.
Both jurists pointed out Licavoli v. United States, in which the DC Circuit held that “Advice of counsel cannot immunize a deliberate, intentional failure to appear pursuant to a lawful subpoena lawfully served,” in assistance of the proposal that the offenders’ mindsets were of no minute to a contempt of Congress charge. The just pertinent information point was whether Navarro and Bannon understood they were subpoenaed and stopped working to appear — check, and check.
The jurors founded guilty Navarro in about 2 hours, and Judge Mehta sentenced him to 4 months in custody. Navarro intended to suspend his sentence pending appeal, however unlike Judge Nichols, Judge Mehta wasn’t budging. Navarro then moved for a stay of his sentence from the DC Circuit.
His argument, such as it is, comes down to “the trial judge was wrong, don’t lock me up.” His lawyer Stan Brand really declared that Judge Mehta had a commitment to neglect Licavoli, on the presumption that the appellate court would seize the day to reverse it.
The federal government’s argument worrying the continued credibility of Licavoli v. United States, 294 F.2d 207 (D.C. Cir. 1961), rests on the malfunctioning and vulnerable presumption that this Court will continue to deal with Licavoli as binding precedent regardless of the apparent damage such a conclusion would have on the teaching of executive opportunity as a crucial linchpin of the constitutional separation of powers teaching.
The court has actually not availed itself of any such chance in Bannon’s case, however … the night is still young. And Navarro got an advantageous panel, drawing Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, Patricia Millett, and Justin Walker for his appeal. (Dammit, no Neomi Rao!)
Last night, Navarro submitted an emergency situation movement notifying the court that the Bureau of Prisons has actually now defined a surrender date of March 19 in Miami, so TICK TOCK, YOUR HONORS.
Should the appeals panel stop working to let him screw around for a number of months and hope that Trump returns in workplace in time to pardon him, Navarro would like an administrative stay to permit him time to race to the Supreme Court for relief.
It’s a strong method, Cotton. Let’s see if it settles.
Liz Dye resides in Baltimore where she produces the Law and Chaos substack and podcast.
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