By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former Republican President Donald Trump’s adviser Peter Navarro pleaded not guilty on Friday to two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress, after he refused to provide testimony or documents to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee investigating the January 2021 attack at the Capitol.
Navarro, who appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for his arraignment on Friday, previously wrote a book after he left the White House in which he talked about a plan to delay Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory known as “Green Bay Sweep.”
He described the plan as the “last, best chance to snatch a stolen election from the Democrats’ jaws of deceit.”
The U.S. House Select Committee, which held its third hearing on Thursday afternoon to reveal some of the findings from its investigation, subpoenaed Navarro in February seeking both documents and testimony.
However, he failed to appear for his deposition or communicate in any way with the panel after receiving the subpoena, the indictment against him alleges.
He later told the committee he was unable to comply with its demands, saying Trump had invoked executive privilege, a legal doctrine that shields certain White House communications from disclosure, and that this privilege “is not mine to waive.”
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)