'Defiance and contempt': DOJ doesn't hold back as it urges judge to jail ex-Trump aide

On January 25, Peter Navarro — former trade adviser for the Trump Administration — is scheduled to be sentenced for two contempt of Congress convictions. Federal prosecutors are recommending prison time and, according to CBS News' Scott MacFarlane, the sentence they have in mind is six months.

In 2022, Navarro defied a subpoena from the January 6 Select Committee. Last year, he was found guilty on two counts.

MacFarlane, in a thread on X, posted early Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) "argues Peter Navarro 'like the rioters at the Capitol, put politics, not country, first, and stonewalled Congress' investigation. The Defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over the rule of law."

DOJ prosecutors, according to MacFarlane, said of Navarro, "He cloaked his bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt behind baseless, unfounded invocations of executive privilege and immunity that could not and would never apply to his situation."

Prosecutors, MacFarlane notes, also wrote, "The Defendant refused to disclose his financial records, instead insisting that he is willing and able to pay any fine imposed."

MacFarlane tweeted the DOJ's 20-page sentencing memo, which recommended a $200,000 fine in addition to a federal prison sentence.

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