Supreme Court Denies Peter Navarro’s Bid for Release During Appeal of Jan. 6 Contempt Conviction

The Supreme Court has denied Peter Navarro’s request to be released from prison while he appeals his four-month jail term for disobeying a subpoena issued by the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot. The court provided no explanation in its decision, which was addressed to Justice Neil Gorsuch and referred back to the Court as a whole. This is not the first time that Navarro’s efforts to halt his imprisonment have been rejected; Chief Justice John Roberts turned down an earlier request on March 18th for similar reasons.
Navarro, who served as an advisor to former President Donald Trump, was charged following refusals in 2021 to submit requested evidence in connection with the House select committee’s investigation into events surrounding January 6, when a mob of supporters stormed the US Capitol and delayed the transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden. Navarro argued that executive privilege protected him against responding to the subpoena; however, U.S Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar pointed out in her March filing that much of the requested information was not subject to executive privilege and that Donald Trump himself did not claim executive privilege concerning these issues at all.
Navarro’s lawyers renewed their request for release on April 2nd before Justice Gorsuch, emphasising that by then he had already served fifteen days in prison. They also noted the briefing schedule set out by a federal appeals court for his appeal case – due to end sometime in mid-July and after Navarro’s sentence has been completed.