STRUCK DOWN

Peter Navarro Has Executive Privilege Claim Knocked by Federal Judge

He is set to go to trial on a charge of contempt of Congress.

Peter Navarro, the former adviser to Donald Trump who wrote at length about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, had a key part of his defense to a contempt of Congress charge thrown out by a federal judge on Wednesday. Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled that Navarro won’t be able to argue at trial that executive privilege barred him from testifying and providing documents to the House committee probing Capitol riot. At a pre-trial conference in Washington, Mehta told Navarro he didn’t meet the burden to establish that Trump had formally granted him executive privilege or testimonial immunity. Navarro, 74, is now staring down a jury trial that could see him receive a sentence similar to fellow ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon faced two counts of the same contempt charge, and he was sentenced to four months in the clink and fined $6,500 last summer.