Supreme Court rejects latest Peter Navarro bid to leave prison

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the latest bid by former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro to stay out of prison while he appeals his conviction for ignoring a congressional subpoena from the now-defunct House Jan. 6 committee.

Navarro, 74, was found guilty last year on two counts of contempt of Congress stemming from his failure to produce documents related to the investigation and another for evading a deposition before the panel that was tasked with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The Supreme Court’s rejection of Navarro’s bid marks the second time he has been denied by the justices on his quest to be set free while he challenges his conviction at an appeals court.

Navarro reported to federal prison in Miami in mid-March to begin serving a four-month prison sentence for defying a congressional subpoena after Chief Justice John Roberts denied his first last-ditch attempt to remain free.

In early April, he renewed his request to Justice Neil Gorsuch, who referred his bid to the full court, which ultimately denied it. There were no noted dissents.

The former Trump administration adviser has argued he was bound by executive privilege when he defied the subpoena, but the district court judge overseeing the case found there was no evidence the privilege was ever invoked.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected Navarro’s effort to delay his sentence, finding him unlikely to win a new trial or reverse his conviction.

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Navarro made his second appeal to the Supreme Court, citing the schedule for his challenge against his conviction at the appeals court level. The last filing at the D.C. Circuit is due July 18, after Navarro will have served his full sentence.

Other former White House officials have been convicted of the same charge. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress and sentenced to four months in prison. However, the district judge overseeing that case put his prison term on hold while he appeals.