U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta on Tuesday denied Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro's request for a new trial over his contempt of Congress case.
Navarro was convicted in September of contempt when he refused to cooperate with the House Select Committee investigating the 2020 election overthrow attempt and Jan. 6 attack.
Navarro claimed that the jury in his case took a break outside of the courthouse during deliberations and they could have witnessed protesters — and signs they were holding up — and had their decisions swayed.
"Importantly, the court finds that the jurors would not have seen an additional sign contained in Defendant’s motion," writes Judge Mehta. "Likely referring to Defendant, that sign said, 'Bro, should’ve Plead the 5th Peter 4 Prison.' ... Defendant’s supplement identifies the source of this image as a video 'created to assist defense counsel' and posted to the site Rumble ('Rumble Video')."
The Rumble video, the judge explained, "does not depict the eight minute-period when the jurors were outside on break. It instead captures the moments before and after Defendant emerges from the courthouse after the verdict, long after the jurors had left John Marshall Park. The sign in question appears in no other video evidence."
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Navarro was convicted of two counts and each charge has a maximum penalty of one year in prison, Politico reported last year.
“Our government only works when people play by the rules and it only works when people are held accountable when they do not,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi during closing arguments in September. “When a person intentionally and deliberately chooses to defy a congressional subpoena, that is a crime.”
