Former Trump White House adviser, Peter Navarro, was denied the ability to argue before a jury that former President Donald Trump asserted privilege to protect him from a House January 6 committee subpoena, according to a ruling by a federal judge on Wednesday. US District Judge Amit P. Mehta stated that Navarro had failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish that Trump had formally granted executive privilege or testimonial immunity. The ruling severely limits Navarro’s defense in his upcoming contempt of Congress trial, scheduled to begin next week.
During an evidentiary hearing on Monday, Navarro testified about alleged assertions from Trump. However, Judge Mehta concluded that for the privilege to be validly asserted, either Trump himself or someone authorized on his behalf would have had to personally invoke it. Navarro’s “nondescript” testimony about a supposed call with Trump in February 2022, during which the privilege was supposedly invoked, lacked specificity, according to the judge. Mehta also pointed out the lack of follow-up from Trump to Congress after Navarro was held in contempt, suggesting that Trump could have corrected the House’s record if he had asserted privilege.
Navarro, speaking to reporters after the hearing, expressed his belief that the constitutional issues regarding the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches would likely be appealed up to the Supreme Court. He argued that a partisan Congress should not abuse the subpoena process to punish the party out of power.
The case was initially scheduled to go to trial earlier this year but was delayed to allow Judge Mehta to consider the admissibility of evidence regarding Trump’s alleged assertions. Despite Navarro’s claims about Trump invoking privilege, the judge remained skeptical, stating that he still didn’t know what the president said during the February call. The judge referred to Navarro’s argument that Trump regretted not letting him testify as “weak sauce.”
Navarro has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him by the Justice Department in June 2022. With the judge’s ruling, Navarro’s defense strategy will be severely hampered when the trial begins next week.