Peter Navarro appears to have thought that he was facing one year in prison, but MSNBC host Ari Melber explained on Friday that the former Trump advisor is now facing a sentence that is actually twice as long.
Navarro, 72, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Navarro was taken into custody and was to appear in court Friday afternoon, according to the Washington federal district court.
He was interviewed by Melber on Thursday night. “The seriousness for me, Ari is, you know, the average life span in America for an American male is 76 years old," Navarro said at the time. "If I were to go to prison for a year, which is what the contempt charge could do to me, that would be a fourth of my remaining life and there would be a fine that would take a significant portion of my retirement savings. So, I’m taking this very seriously.”
Melber noted during a MSNBC segment on Friday that it was still possible for Navarro to cooperate with authorities.
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“He referred last night to facing up to one year in jail,” he explained. “The news today, with Navarro's indictment, is he would be facing up to two years potentially on two counts. He was emphasizing his age and what he sees as the burden. It may be that either Navarro or others facing this committee see how serious the Justice Department is, see this kind of pressure, and decide they want to reach some accommodation.”
Navarro was charged with refusing to appear for a deposition and for refusing to supply documents to the House Select Committee investigating the attack by hundreds of Trump supporters seeking to block congressional certification of Joe Biden as the 2020 presidential election winner.
The committee, which is examining whether Trump, top aides and other senior Republicans instigated or directed the attack, believes Navarro could have information pertinent to the probe, the Justice Department said.
The committee said it had information showing that Navarro worked with former Trump political advisor Steve Bannon "to delay Congress's certification of, an ultimately change the outcome of, the November 2020 presidential election."
After collecting documents and interviewing hundreds of witnesses in private, the committee plans to hold public hearings on its findings beginning June 9.
In a book Navarro published in November, he described creating a plan after the election, called the "Green Bay sweep" in a reference to American football, to reverse Biden's victory by blocking confirmation in the House.
He wrote that Trump was "on board with the strategy."
Navarro, an economist, was subpoenaed in early February but did not supply documents requested or appear for questioning scheduled for March 2.
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With additional reporting by AFP