Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro on Thursday defied the advice given by his lawyers to complain directly to Judge Amit Mehta about his conviction for being in criminal contempt of Congress.
As reported by CBS News' Scott MacFarlane, Navarro argued to Mehta that he sincerely believed he was unable to testify before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riots because former President Donald Trump had invoked executive privilege claims.
"When I received that Congressional subpoena... I had an honest belief the privilege had been invoked," Navarro said. "Nobody in my position should be put in conflict between the legislative branch and the executive branch."
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Navarro went on to argue that his noncompliance was the fault of the House Select Committee for not calling Trump and asking him to waive executive privilege, even though Trump had vowed to obstruct the committee's work.
"I'm disappointed with a process that a jury convicted me... and I couldn't present a defense," Navarro complained, according to MacFarlane.
Navarro also claimed that he never wanted violence to erupt at the Capitol on January 6th because it interfered with his plot to get then-Vice President Mike Pence to unilaterally throw out certified election results.
