Peter Navarro, former trade advisor and coup plotter, was indicted for criminal contempt of Congress this week. That makes only 2 out of 4 of those plotters referred to DOJ for prosecution. Steve Bannon goes to trial shortly, but Mark Meadows, former chief of staff, who was a nexus of the plot escaped prosecution by appearing to cooperate with the House Select Committee. Former deputy chief of staff, Dan Scavino, a relatively minor player, also avoided prosecution. Although he never appeared to testify, Meadows did turn over 9,000 text messages that reveal a timeline of events before and during the riot on Capitol Hill that threatened the lives of Congress members and police. His legal tactic was intended to provide just enough information to make prosecution for willful defiance of the Committee difficult. When asked by reporters to comment on DOJ's nolo prosequi, his attorney said,“The result speaks for itself.”
Navarro appeared in court on Friday, still defiant, to answer two charges of criminal contempt, one for refusing to testify and another for refusing to produced documents wanted by the Committee. He was subpoenaed in February. If convicted he could be fined up to $100,000 and one year of detention for each count. His refusal to cooperate with the investigation was blatant as was Steve Bannon's. Chairman Thompson wrote to Navarro, "And because you have already discussed these issues and other relevant issues in your recently published book....we look forward to discussing them with you, too."
The former aide disclosed to reporters that he has received another grand jury subpoena in the DOJ's investigation of the insurrection, a sign that the reluctant law enforcement agency has finally turned its attention to the principle coup plotters. If that investigation is conducted with integrity, it will lead only to one man: Herr Donald "the Boss" Trumpillini.
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