Former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro asked the Supreme Court to let him avoid reporting to federal prison next week for a four-month prison sentence resulting from his contempt of Congress conviction.
In an emergency request filed to Chief Justice John Roberts Friday afternoon, Navarro asked to remain free while he challenges his conviction before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Navarro has been ordered to report to a Bureau of Prisons facility in Miami before 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
“For the first time in our nation’s history, a senior presidential advisor has been convicted of contempt of congress after asserting executive privilege over a congressional subpoena,” Navarro’s attorneys wrote in their high court petition.
Navarro’s counsel furthered its Friday plea to Roberts by contending he poses no public safety or flight risk.
The former trade adviser, 74, was convicted of failing to respond to a congressional subpoena twice last year from the now-defunct Jan. 6 committee. Navarro had attempted to invoke executive privilege when defying the subpoena, but U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta rejected that argument.
Navarro’s request follows the appeals court’s decision on Thursday that largely affirmed the trial judge’s ruling last month that Navarro’s appeal does not elevate to a “substantial question of law” that would warrant his release.
At the core of Navarro’s high court petition is the question of whether “an ‘affirmative’ invocation of executive privilege was required to preclude a prosecution for contempt of congress; what was required of former President Trump for a ‘proper’ invocation of privilege.”
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Mehta’s holding against Navarro stands in contrast to the conviction of Steve Bannon, a former White House chief strategist under Donald Trump who was also sentenced to four months in prison for failing to comply with a committee subpoena and has been allowed to remain free pending appeal of his conviction.
The Supreme Court requested a response from the Justice Department by 2 p.m. Monday, 24 hours before Navarro is due to report to prison.
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