By Eniola Amadu
Former White House adviser Peter Navarro has appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, seeking to compel Donald Trump’s Justice Department to explain why it abandoned its defence of his 2022 contempt of Congress conviction.
Navarro, who served four months in prison last year after refusing to comply with a subpoena from the January 6 committee, submitted a 13-page filing on Sunday night.
He argued that the department’s sudden withdrawal undermined transparency, left him in legal limbo, and cast doubt on the fairness of the process.
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“The department’s abrupt withdrawal now deprives the court of transparency about the department’s current view concerning the landmark constitutional issues presented, undermines the fairness of the process, and burdens the defence with uncertainty,” the filing stated.
Navarro had been subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot for his role in efforts to delay Congress’s certification of the 2020 election results.
He ignored the summons, claiming executive privilege on the basis that Donald Trump had sought to block his testimony.
That defence collapsed at trial when Judge Amit Mehta ruled the privilege claim did not apply to the January 6 panel and that Navarro was obliged to answer questions outside the scope of presidential communications.
He was later convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress.
After Trump returned to office and Navarro rejoined the White House, federal prosecutors disclosed they no longer supported the Biden-era arguments used to secure his conviction. They instead suggested appointing an outside lawyer to continue the case.
Navarro now insists the Justice Department cannot simply withdraw without providing a detailed explanation, given the implications for executive privilege and congressional oversight.
“DoJ told the courts my appeal raised no substantial questions, forcing me to surrender and lose four months of freedom. Now the same DoJ attorney of record wants to yank his own brief. You don’t make that pivot unless serious constitutional questions exist,” he told the Guardian.
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His legal team includes Stan Brand and John Rowley, both of whom have represented several Trump advisers in related cases. A third lawyer, Stanley Woodward, recused himself after being nominated as Trump’s associate attorney general.
