Former Trump advisor Navarro sentenced to four months in prison

Peter Navarro, a White House trade advisor to former US president Donald Trump, has been sentenced to four months in prison for refusing to testify before the congressional panel that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Navarro, 74, a Harvard-educated economist, has been found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress by a federal jury in Washington in September after a two-day trial.

US District Judge Amit Mehta sentences him to four months in prison — two months less than prosecutors had requested — and ordered him to pay a fine of $9,500.

“You are not a victim,” The Washington Post quotes Mehta as saying at Navarro’s sentencing hearing. “You are not the object of a political prosecution. These are circumstances of your own making.”

Navarro had refused to appear for a deposition before the House of Representatives committee that investigated the January 6 attack on Congress by Trump supporters and declined to supply documents to the panel.

Navarro is the second close Trump ally to be convicted of contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas from the House committee.

Steve Bannon, one of the masterminds behind Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and victory, was also found guilty of contempt of Congress.

Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison but remains free pending an appeal. Navarro is also expected to appeal.