Ari Melber Asks Peter Navarro – Who’s Dodging Jan. 6 Committee – ‘You Do Realize These Investigators Can Hear You When You Talk on TV?’

MSNBC’s Ari Melber zinged Peter Navarro when he reminded him lawmakers on the Jan. 6 House select committee can see and hear him on television.

Navarro has not spoken with Congressional investigators. He is suing the committee, rather than comply with a subpoena the panel issued to him.

The former Trump administration trade advisor has maintained he cannot talk about anything related to his time in the White House, citing “executive privilege.”

In spite of Navarro’s unwillingness to sit down with Jan. 6 investigators, he has spoken publicly numerous times about a scheme to help Trump win the 2020 election — after vote totals showed Joe Biden won.

On The Beat Thursday, Melber welcomed Navarro. The host pointed out members of Trump’s own family have spoken with the committee. He asked Navarro why he won’t.

“What do you say to these people?” he asked Navarro of people who have offered testimony. “What do you think of their cooperation?”

Navarro explained most of the people who have talked with lawmakers do not have executive privilege to cite, minus Jared Kushner, who did cooperate.

“I thought it was cowardly what he did, to go to the committee and undermine the executive privilege of other senior White House advisers,” Navarro said of Kushner.

Melber conceded Navarro has every right to make a case for not speaking to the committee. But he had a burning question: why talk about the 2020 election in public, but not with investigators?

“You keep saying that you have the right not to talk,” Melber said, before he pointed out, “So, you’re risking going potentially to jail not to talk to them, but you’re out here talking in public. You do realize these investigators can hear you when you talk on TV?”

Navarro stubbornly sidestepped the observation and continued to talk about protecting executive privilege.

He has been a vocal critic of lawmakers on the committee, and he has consistently cited a privilege that might or might no apply to him.

Biden has denied executive privilege to Navarro, but as Axios noted, the matter is more complex than it might appear:

[A letter] from the White House to Navarro was similar to [Michael Flynn‘s], but unlike Flynn, Navarro still served the president at the time of the riot — potentially giving him a stronger argument that his conversations with Trump should be protected.

Watch above, via MSNBC.