Ex-Trump Aide Peter Navarro Sentenced to 4 Months Behind Bars

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Peter Navarro, who was an aide to former President Donald Trump, was sentenced to for months in jail on Thursday for contempt of Congress related to his refusal to comply with a Congressional subpoena.

Navarro, who played an active role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, refused to appear before Congress while they investigated the January 6 insurrection.

At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta told Navarro:

[Y]ou are not a victim. You are not the object of a political prosecution… These are circumstances of your own making. You have received every process you are due… as any American is entitled to… the same respect that I hope I have shown you… when you were called up to go to testify, you didn’t show a co-equal branch of Congress the same degree of respect, and it’s regrettable.

Navarro’s request for a new trial after he was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress in September was denied earlier this month.

CNN’s senior crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz reported that Navarro was also fined $9,500 and was expected to appeal the decision on the sentence as well as his conviction:

Navarro told the court that he “was torn… Nobody in my position should be put in conflict between the legislative branch and the executive branch.” He also claimed he “did not know what to do” when he was issued the subpoena.

After former Trump advisor Steve Bannon was also convicted of contempt of Congress and sentenced to four months, Navarro became the second person in Trump’s circle to face legal consequences for refusing to testify before Congress about their respective roles in trying to overturn election results.

This story is breaking and will be updated.