Peter Navarro (left), Dan Scavino.Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Thebipartisan congressional committeeinvestigating the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riots is urging the House to hold two senior Trump White House officials in contempt of Congress, after they failed to comply with congressional subpoenas for records and testimony related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The two former officials — Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino — are Trump loyalists. Navarro, 72, served in the Trump administration as the Assistant to the President, Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, and the national Defense Production Act policy coordinator. Scavino, 46, previously served as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for communications and as director of social media.
Speaking at a meeting Monday, Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson noted that Scavino and Navarro “aren’t household names,” but said they “played a key role in the ex-President’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.”
Thompson added that the men had failed to cooperate after the Select Committee subpoenaed them for records and testimony to learn more about their roles in what led to the riots.
Speaking in the same meeting on Monday, Republican Liz Cheney argued that Scavino worked “directly with President Trump to spread President Trump’s false message that the election was stolen, and to recruit Americans to come to Washington with the false promise that January 6th would be an opportunity to ‘take back their country.’ "
Navarro, she said, had “written a book boasting about his role in planning and coordinating the activity of January 6th, and yet, he does not have the courage to testify here.”
In a statementsent to media outlets including ABC News, Navarro said the bipartisan committee was engaged in a “witch hunt” predicated on a “ridiculous legal premise.” Scavino, meanwhile,posted links to articles on the right-wing website Breitbart, which argued that the contempt charge was based on “false claims.”
The full House is expected to vote on the contempt charges later this week.
If the House votes in favor of holding the two men in contempt, it would then refer the matter to the Justice Department, which would determine whether to pursue criminal charges.
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In December, the House voted to hold Trump’s former Chief of StaffMark Meadowsin contempt of Congress, also for refusing to testify to investigators. The Justice Department hasnot yet taken action on that referral.
source: people.com
