Former Trump White House advisor Peter Navarro, whose trial on contempt charges is set to begin next week, suffered a major legal blow on Wednesday when a federal judge ruled he cannot claim as president, Donald Trump invoked executive privilege to shield him from testifying before the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.
“Navarro had not met the burden to establish that Donald Trump formally granted executive privilege or testimonial immunity, US District Judge Amit P. Mehta said at a pre-trial conference,” CNN reports. “Navarro’s criminal case, which was brought by the Justice Department in June 2022, goes to trial next Tuesday. Navarro has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Mehta’s new ruling severely hamstrings the arguments the former Trump aide will be able to present in his defense.”
Speaking to reporters Wednesday afternoon, Navarro appeared to try to call out CNN, but instead chose to tangle with a protestor behind him holding up a sign that said, “Trump Lost (and you know it,)” which is contrary to Navarro’s stated claims.
At one point, apparently frustrated, Navarro attempted to grab the sign out of the hands of the protestor directly behind him.
“Bro, you’re already facing charges,” the protestor said, to which Navarro conceded, “Yeah, I get it.”
He also attempted to turn two protestors with apparently different viewpoints into an “important kind of debate” about America.
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