The House 6 January select committee has released a report containing a recommendation to hold two former aides to ex-President Donald Trump in contempt - Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino. The panel, investigating the events of 6 January 2021 at the US Capitol, justified the move by Scavino and Navarro's failure to show up and give testimonies after being subpoenaed.
Navarro's hearing was scheduled earlier this month, but he didn't show up.
"Mr. Navarro had a brief exchange with Select Committee staff after accepting service of the subpoena and also made public comments indicating that he would not appear or provide documents as required by the subpoena", the report said.
Dan Scavino, in turn, negotiated delays for his deposition six times last year and ultimately did not appear before the panel. He also did not provide the documents the 6 January committee had subpoenaed.
According to Axios, the panel sought Scavino and Navarro's testimonies over their alleged proximity to Trump on 5 and 6 January as well as their purported involvement in planning to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Both former presidential aides questioned the legitimacy of the subpoenas, arguing that the panel was violating executive privilege, which allows members of the administration not to testify if POTUS invokes such a rule.
With recommendations to hold Scavino and Navarro in contempt, the House must now vote to back up this decision and refer the case to the Department of Justice. The 6 January panel has used such referrals three times in the past against former members of the Trump administration who refused to cooperate with the committee.
Among them are White House strategist Steve Bannon, whom the DoJ indicted on two counts of contempt last year, Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. The latter two agreed to cooperate following the referral of the contempt cases against them.
Former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly condemned the work of the "unselect" committee, branding it another "witch hunt" targeting him and those close to him. He invoked executive privilege, however, US courts, including the Supreme Court, ruled that this right currently belongs to President Joe Bide. The latter waived the executive privilege request and thus formally enabled the panel to subpoena members of the Trump administration.
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