{"slug":"dan-scavino-house-contempt-of-congress-2022","title":"House Holds Dan Scavino in Contempt of Congress for Defying January 6 Committee Subpoena (2022); DOJ Declines to Prosecute","date":"2022-04-06","lastUpdated":"2026-10-10","description":"Between Trump's two terms, former White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino did not produce documents or appear for a deposition under subpoenas from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack. On April 6, 2022, the House adopted H. Res. 1037, 220–203, finding him in contempt of Congress and referring him to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. The Justice Department did not prosecute him, NPR reported on June 3, 2022, citing two sources. Scavino returned to the White House as Deputy Chief of Staff on January 20, 2025.","summary":"The Select Committee subpoenaed Scavino three times in 2021 over his role in planning and promoting the January 6, 2021 rally and related communications. His lawyer declined to comply without further explanations and cited executive privilege litigation. The House found him in contempt; he was never charged.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"pre-office","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLS/117/2/hres/BILLS-117hres1037eh.xml","title":"H. Res. 1037, 117th Congress (as agreed to by the House, April 6, 2022)","publisher":"U.S. House of Representatives (via GovInfo)"},{"url":"https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022118?Title=contempt","title":"Roll Call 118, H. Res. 1037","publisher":"Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives"},{"url":"https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IJ/IJ00/20220328/114565/HRPT-117-NA.pdf","title":"Resolution Recommending That the House of Representatives Find Peter K. Navarro and Daniel Scavino, Jr., in Contempt of Congress (Select Committee report)","publisher":"House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol"},{"url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-117hrpt284/pdf/CRPT-117hrpt284.pdf","title":"H. Rept. 117-284, Resolution Recommending That the House of Representatives Find Peter K. Navarro and Daniel Scavino, Jr., in Contempt of Congress (March 29, 2022)","publisher":"U.S. Government Publishing Office"},{"url":"https://www.npr.org/2022/06/03/1102923746/former-trump-adviser-navarro-indicted-for-contempt-of-congress-over-jan-6-subpoe","title":"DOJ declines to prosecute Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino as Navarro is indicted","publisher":"NPR"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["contempt-of-Congress","January-6","between-terms","pre-office"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2021-09-23","title":"First subpoena","summary":"The Select Committee issues its first subpoena to Scavino; it cannot be served."},{"date":"2021-11-23","title":"Final subpoena","summary":"A third subpoena, accepted by counsel, sets a December 1, 2021 deposition."},{"date":"2022-04-06","title":"House contempt vote","summary":"The House adopts H. Res. 1037, 220–203."},{"date":"2022-06-03","title":"No prosecution","summary":"NPR reports the Justice Department will not prosecute Scavino."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C."},"custom":{"posture":"documented","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Dan Scavino","role":"Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications (private citizen at the time)"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2026-10-10","summary":"Added for the Before Office record as between-terms conduct. Scavino served in the first administration from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021 and rejoined on January 20, 2025."}],"keyPoints":["The Select Committee issued subpoenas to Scavino dated September 23, 2021 (could not be served), October 6, 2021 (served October 8 at Mar-a-Lago) and November 23, 2021 (accepted by counsel)","The final subpoena set a document deadline of November 29, 2021 and a deposition on December 1, 2021; his lawyer declined to comply unless the committee explained the pertinence of each expected line of questioning","On April 6, 2022 the House adopted H. Res. 1037, 220–203, finding Navarro and Scavino in contempt and directing certification to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia","NPR reported, citing two sources, that the Justice Department would not prosecute Scavino; legal experts it spoke to noted he had partially cooperated"],"verificationStatus":"cross-referenced","postureNote":"Contempt of Congress finding by the full House (H. Res. 1037, 117th Cong., April 6, 2022, roll call 118, 220–203) on the Select Committee's report H. Rept. 117-284. Referred for prosecution; not charged. Conduct falls between his first-term and second-term service.","subjects":["dan-scavino"],"legalStatus":"official-finding"}}