Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro’s plea for leniency fell on deaf ears yet again as the Supreme Court emphatically shut down his latest attempt to evade prison time for contempt of Congress. Navarro’s desperate bid to remain free while contesting his conviction hit a dead end on Monday, marking the second time the nation’s highest court has rebuffed his appeals.
Navarro, whose defiance of congressional subpoenas landed him in hot water, found himself facing the stark reality of incarceration after Chief Justice John Roberts swiftly dismissed his emergency request last month. Undeterred, Navarro resorted to a rarely-used procedural gambit, hoping to sway Justice Neil Gorsuch in his favor. But Gorsuch wasted no time in passing the buck to the full court, which convened behind closed doors to deliberate on Navarro’s fate.
Unmoved by Navarro’s pleas and legal acrobatics, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict without a shred of ambiguity. The message was clear: there’s no escaping the consequences of flouting the law.
Navarro’s attorneys had argued fervently for a reprieve, citing his supposed lack of flight risk and the purported weightiness of the legal issues at stake. Yet, their efforts proved futile as both lower courts had already dismissed similar appeals, leaving Navarro grasping at straws.
Roberts rejected the request with a brief opinion last month, ruling that Navarro’s actions amounted to a forfeiture of his rights, regardless of any claims to executive privilege.
The conviction, stemming from Navarro’s brazen refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas during the probe into the January 6, 2021, US Capitol insurrection, carries a sentence of four months behind bars.
