Judge denies Peter Navarro's bid to remain out of prison while appealing contempt of Congress case

A federal judge has denied Trump White House official Peter Navarro’s bid to remain out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol

Capitol Riot Contempt (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A federal judge on Thursday denied Trump White House official Peter Navarro's bid to remain out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Navarro was sentenced last month to four months behind bars after being found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 Committee. He had asked to be free while he fights that conviction in higher courts.

But U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta denied that request, saying Navarro must report to serve his sentence on the date ordered by the Bureau of Prisons, unless the federal appeals court steps in to block Mehta's order.

An attorney for Navarro didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Navarro was the second Trump aide convicted of contempt of Congress charges. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon previously received a four-month sentence but is free pending appeal.

Navarro served as a White House trade adviser under President Donald Trump and later promoted the Republican’s baseless claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Navarro has said he couldn’t cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. The judge barred him from making that argument at trial, however, finding that he didn’t show Trump had actually invoked it.