Former Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro declared on Monday night that President Joe Biden does not have the authority to deny him “executive privilege” given to him by the former president.
In a statement to CNN, the former trade adviser claimed that Biden does not have the ability to waive Trump’s executive privilege in his case. He also claimed that the committee’s investigation is predicated on a false notion that the 2020 presidential election was “free and fair.”
“My position remains this is not my Executive Privilege to waive and the Committee should negotiate this matter with President Trump,” Navarro said in a statement. “If he waives the privilege, I will be happy to comply; but I see no effort by the Committee to clarify this matter with President Trump, which is bad faith and bad law.”
Navarro’s statement came after the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection voted unanimously to recommend criminal contempt of Congress charges against Navarro and Trump White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino for defying congressional subpoenas.
In response to the subpoena, Navarro asked the committee if the proceedings would be held in public. Then, he closed off communication with the committee and referred all questions regarding his cooperation to Trump and his attorneys.
The committee accuses Navarro of making no effort to comply with its subpoena request, claiming that Navarro made it clear that he was unable to cooperate because Trump had asserted executive privilege in the matter.
Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) cited the executive privilege argument in his opening statement Monday.
“They potentially played a part in an attack on American democracy, but they can ignore our investigation because they worked for the government at the time. That’s their argument,” Thompson said. “They’re not fooling anybody. They are obligated to comply with our investigation. They have refused to do so. And that’s a crime.”
