Peter Navarro, a former Trump White House official specializing in trade policy, has been ordered to report to a Miami prison by March 19 to start his four-month sentence, according to a Sunday court filing.
In February, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta denied Navarro’s request to stay his prison sentence while he appeals his conviction on charges of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House’s Jan. 6 committee.
Navarro reiterated his request for an appeals court to pause his sentence Sunday, with his attorneys noting in a court filing that the prison term is slated to begin March 19.
“Dr. Navarro has now been ordered to report to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, FCI Miami, on or before 2 p.m. EDT on March 19, 2024,” the filing states. “Accordingly, Dr. Navarro respectfully reiterates his request for an administrative stay so as to permit the court to resolve the instant motion. Should this court deny Dr. Navarro’s motion, he respectfully requests an administrative stay so as to permit the Supreme Court review of this court’s denial.”
Peter Navarro defense filing: “Dr. Navarro has now been ordered to report to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, FCI Miami, on or before 2:00PM EDT on March 19, 2024”
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) March 11, 2024
The Justice Department indicted Navarro in June 2022 after the former Trump trade aide declined to testify during his deposition and failed to produce documents requested by the Jan. 6 committee, arguing executive privilege. After Navarro was convicted, the DOJ recommended that he spend six months behind bars and pay $200,000.
Following his indictment, the FBI arrested Navarro at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, as he was heading to a Nashville speaking engagement, according to Politico.
“Dr. Navarro’s challenge to the district court’s determinations with respect to executive privilege and/or precluding Dr. Navarro from asserting executive privilege as a defense at trial are complicated issues rife with ‘close questions’ or questions, ‘that very well could be decided the other way,’” his attorneys wrote in the Sunday filing.
Originally published by the Daily Signal News Foundation
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