Washington — President-elect Donald Trump introduced Wednesday that he has named longtime aide Peter Navarro, who served on the White Home Commerce Council within the first Trump administration, to be “senior counselor for commerce and manufacturing.”
The announcement comes simply months after Navarro, 75, was launched from jail after serving a four-month sentence for defying a congressional subpoena. Navarro was subpoenaed for information and testimony in 2022 by the now-defunct Home choose committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, and he refused to conform, claiming that Trump had asserted govt privilege over the fabric sought by the committee.
A federal choose in Washington convicted Navarro of two counts of contempt, and he reported to a Florida federal correctional facility in March to serve a four-month sentence. He spoke on the Republican Nationwide Conference in July the identical day he was launched from jail, slamming the “Division of Injustice” in his speech.
Trump praised Navarro within the announcement Wednesday as a “man who was handled horribly by the Deep State, or no matter else.”
As a commerce adviser within the first Trump administration, Navarro endorsed “America First” commerce insurance policies, together with steep tariffs to guard home industries.
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Within the social media publish saying Navarro’s choice, Trump praised Navarro’s time as a commerce adviser. “The Senior Counselor place leverages Peter’s broad vary of White Home expertise, whereas harnessing his in depth Coverage analytic and Media abilities,” Trump wrote. “His mission shall be to assist efficiently advance and talk the Trump Manufacturing, Tariff, and Commerce Agendas.”
Trump introduced in 2016 that Navarro could be serving on the helm of the newly shaped White Home Commerce Council and as director of commerce and industrial coverage. Previous to that, he had written a e-book referred to as “Dying by China” that endorsed a hardline towards commerce with China.
In March 2020, Trump named Navarro as coverage coordinator of the Protection Manufacturing Act, which Trump invoked on March 18, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to fabricate medical provides and PPE. On “60 Minutes” in April 2020, Navarro fiercely defended protectionist commerce insurance policies regardless of the scarcity of that tools earlier than the pandemic.
“It is the globalization of manufacturing via multinational firms, who salute no flag, who love low-cost sweatshop labor, and who love the huge subsidies that the Chinese language authorities throws at manufacturing to deliver it from right here to there,” Navarro advised “60 Minutes” correspondent Invoice Whitaker.
Congressional subpoena and jail time
The Home Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed information and testimony from Navarro, alleging that he developed plans to overturn the end result of the 2020 election. “Mr. Navarro seems to have data straight related to the Choose Committee’s investigation into the causes of the January sixth assault on the Capitol,” mentioned the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, on the time.
In 2021, Navarro wrote a e-book wherein he wrote that he and different Trump advisers constructed a plan referred to as the “Inexperienced Bay Sweep” because the “final, greatest likelihood to grab a stolen election from the Democrats’ jaws of deceit.” Moreover, within the weeks main as much as the Jan. 6 assault, Navarro promoted a doc he referred to as the “Navarro Report” that asserted baseless and discredited claims of election fraud.
Navarro refused to adjust to the subpoena, saying that Trump had invoked govt privilege. The committee advisable in a unanimous vote to advocate contempt fees, with the Justice Division in the end agreeing, charging him with two counts of contempt.
Navarro testified at an evidentiary listening to that Trump invoked govt privilege in a Feb. 2022 dialog, 11 days after he was subpoenaed. However U.S. District Choose Amit Mehta barred that protection, saying there was no proof that any official assertion was made, and Navarro didn’t testify at his one-day trial.
In his sentencing, Mehta famous Navarro’s public statements after the assault and mentioned there was no proof of govt privilege. Whereas Mehta mentioned that it appeared that Navarro a minimum of believed he was working underneath the guise of govt privilege, he mentioned govt privilege will not be a “magical mud” or “a get-out-of-jail free card.”
Navarro tried to enchantment his conviction, even requesting after he surrendered to jail his case be heard by the Supreme Court docket, which declined. He reported to jail in March and served 4 months on the Federal Correctional Institute in Miami, which is reserved for older inmates.
He’s not the one one that was charged by the Justice Division for refusing to adjust to the Home subpoenas. High Trump aide Steve Bannon additionally served 4 months this yr.
Robert Legare and
contributed to this report.
