US Capitol riot probe to press for charges against Trump allies

Lawmakers investigating the 2021 assault on the US Capitol were set to begin criminal contempt proceedings Monday against two key allies of former president Donald Trump for refusing to testify.

Former trade director Peter Navarro and deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino were subpoenaed to appear before the congressional panel probing the January 6 riot, but didn't show up.

The committee, headed by a Democratic lawmaker with a Republican deputy, was expected to vote unanimously to approve a recommendation that the full House of Representatives cite the pair for criminal contempt of Congress.

The Democratic-controlled House will vote soon after to refer Navarro and Scavino to the Justice Department to consider charges. If successfully prosecuted, they would be facing several weeks of jail time.

Thousands of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol last year in an effort to stop President Joe Biden's election victory from being certified.

They had been whipped up by Trump, whose fiery calls to march on Congress and "fight like hell" was the culmination of months of baseless fraud claims about a contest he lost fairly to Biden.

Scavino was the ex-president's social media manager and they were together at the White House as the mob began its attack, according to investigators.

Biden, who determines who has executive privilege, turned down an effort by the official to resist testifying via a privilege claim.

Navarro has bragged about his role in organizing the Trump campaign's effort to overturn the election result.

Navarro told cable channel MSNBC in January that the plot required more than 100 lawmakers voting to send the results back to be decertified in six battleground states.

There have been no dissenting voices on the panel on previous recommendations to cite senior Trump aides Mark Meadows and Steve Bannon, as well as ex-Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark.

Only Bannon is being prosecuted so far, however, and the Clark citation didn't even make it to the floor of the House.

The panel meets at 7:30 pm (2330 GMT) and some members may seek agreement to call Ginni Thomas, the right-wing activist wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to testify.

Ginni Thomas's text messages in late 2020 and early 2021, turned over to the committee by Meadows, show she pushed repeatedly for Trump aides to work to overturn the election.

Meanwhile, her husband is facing growing calls for his recusal from Supreme Court cases related to the Capitol assault.