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By: The opinion Posted 06 Sep 2023, 20:55 pm EDT
The contempt of Congress trial of Peter Navarro, a former White House aide to Donald Trump, began Wednesday with conflicting opening statements from prosecutors and defense, according to CNN.
Navarro, who under Trump was director of the White House Office of Manufacturing and Trade Policy, is on trial after a grand jury indicted him in June.
The former White House trade adviser “acted as if he was above the law,” Justice Department attorney John Crabb told jurors. “But he is not above the law. Nobody is.”
Navarro’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, said in his opening remarks that he agreed with prosecutors that Navarro did not produce documents or appear to testify, but, he said, the january 6 committee did not communicate with former president donald trump to find out if he had asserted executive privilege over Navarro’s testimony and production of documents.
The first charge that Navarro faces concerns failure to deliver documents related to the committee’s investigation, and the second is related to failure to appear for a statement before panel investigators. Navarro has pleaded not guilty.
If convicted of both charges, he could face up to two years in prison and fines of up to $200,000.
Prosecutors argued before U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta that Navarro’s failure to comply prevented the committee from obtaining information relevant to its investigation.
“Congress believed that Navarro had information about what happened on January 6, more specifically why it happened,” Assistant US Attorney John Crabb said in opening arguments.
But defense attorneys said prosecutors failed to meet their burden of proof, comparing the government’s case to a movie trailer containing the best parts of the movie, leaving “nothing” of substance for the movie itself.
Both the prosecution and the defense concluded their presentations on Wednesday and closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday.
Keep reading:
– Department of Justice says Pete Navarro is not protected from testifying by January 6
– The Department of Justice has asked a judge to compel Navarro to return emails from the Trump White House
– Justice Department Sues Peter Navarro Over “Missing” Trump White House Emails