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Peter Navarro Convicted of Contempt of Congress for Defying January 6 Committee Subpoena (2023)

Navarro asserted executive privilege before seeing the subpoena and refused to engage with the Select Committee. The district court found that President Trump had not invoked executive privilege for the subpoena. After the 2025 change of administration the Justice Department moved to strike its own appellate brief and was deemed to have withdrawn from the appeal; the D.C. Circuit affirmed anyway. The Washington Examiner reported on August 28, 2026 that the full D.C. Circuit had denied rehearing en banc; his lawyer said the case "was always headed to the Supreme Court." He does not appear on the Justice Department's list of Trump clemency grants (updated September 9, 2026).

Record summary

Grade

Outside the grading scale: Pre-Office Conduct

International crime

Pre-office conduct — outside the official-power scale

Conduct from before office: Donald Trump’s before the June 2015 campaign launch, and an administration official’s before their first appointment or between terms. Scale and definitions

Status
Concluded
Legal status
Convicted
Before Office
Peter Navarro (all before-office records)
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Washington, D.C.
Category
Rule of Law
Legal posture
Judicial finding
Verification
Cross-referenced
Sources
7 cited
Stable ID
peter-navarro-contempt-of-congress-conviction
Posture note
United States v. Navarro, No. 1:22-cr-00200 (D.D.C.): convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress (2 U.S.C. § 192), September 2023; concurrent four-month sentences, served March–July 2024. Affirmed, No. 24-3006 (D.C. Cir. July 21, 2026). Conduct falls between his first-term and second-term service.
Alleged responsible parties
  • Peter Navarro, Former Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy (private citizen at the time)

Key points

  • The Select Committee's subpoena ordered Navarro to produce a schedule of documents by February 23, 2022 and to appear for a deposition on March 2, 2022
  • Asked whether he would accept service, Navarro replied within minutes, before seeing the subpoena: "Yes. No counsel. Executive privilege."
  • On April 6, 2022 the House adopted H. Res. 1037 finding Navarro in contempt and referring him to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia
  • In June 2022 a grand jury indicted him on two counts of contempt of Congress; in September 2023 a jury convicted him on both counts after a two-day trial
  • He was sentenced to concurrent four-month terms and, per CNN, became the first former White House official imprisoned for contempt of Congress; he completed the sentence in July 2024
  • After the change of administration the Justice Department moved to strike its own brief, saying it was 'no longer taking the same position as the prior administration'; the D.C. Circuit treated it as withdrawn and affirmed on July 21, 2026

What happened

In 2021, after leaving the White House, Peter Navarro published a book in which he took credit for a plan to "delay certification" of the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021. The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol subpoenaed him for documents, due February 23, 2022, and a deposition on March 2, 2022. Before seeing the subpoena, Navarro answered the committee's counsel: "Yes. No counsel. Executive privilege." He produced no documents and did not appear.

  • Congressional referral: On April 6, 2022, the House adopted H. Res. 1037 (220–203), finding Navarro in contempt and directing certification to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
  • Charges: In June 2022 a federal grand jury indicted Navarro on two counts of contempt of Congress under 2 U.S.C. § 192: refusing to produce documents and refusing to appear for the deposition.
  • Conviction: The district court found that President Trump had not invoked executive privilege for Navarro's subpoena. In September 2023 a jury convicted him on both counts after a two-day trial, and he was sentenced to concurrent four-month terms, which he served in 2024.
  • Appeal: After the 2025 change of administration the Justice Department moved to strike its own appellate brief and did not seek dismissal; the court deemed the government to have withdrawn. On July 21, 2026 a D.C. Circuit panel (Millett, Pillard, Childs) affirmed the conviction. Navarro's lawyer said he would continue to appeal.
  • Rehearing: The Washington Examiner reported on August 28, 2026 that the full D.C. Circuit had denied Navarro's petition for rehearing en banc, with no judge requesting a vote. His lawyer, Abhishek Kambli, said the case "was always headed to the Supreme Court." No Supreme Court filing was found in the sources fetched for this entry (checked 2026-10-10).
  • Clemency: CNN reported on July 21, 2026 that Navarro had not received a presidential pardon. He does not appear on the Justice Department's list of clemency grants by President Trump, 2025 to present (page updated September 9, 2026; checked 2026-10-10).

Sources

  • United States v. Peter K. Navarro, No. 24-3006 (D.C. Cir. July 21, 2026).
  • Katelyn Polantz, "Trump adviser loses appeal of January 6-related contempt of Congress conviction," CNN, July 21, 2026.
  • Tierney Sneed and Katelyn Polantz, "Peter Navarro begins serving prison sentence after historic contempt prosecution," CNN, March 19, 2024.
  • Carrie Johnson, "DOJ declines to prosecute Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino as Navarro is indicted," NPR, June 3, 2022.
  • H. Res. 1037, 117th Congress, as agreed to April 6, 2022.
  • Kaelan Deese, "Appeals court denies Peter Navarro bid to rehear contempt challenge: 'Always headed to Supreme Court'," Washington Examiner, August 28, 2026.
  • U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney, "Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-Present)," updated September 9, 2026.

Update log

  1. Fact-check: added the August 2026 denial of rehearing en banc and the Justice Department clemency list; corrected the description of the district court's privilege finding.

  2. Added for the Before Office record as between-terms conduct. Navarro served in the first administration from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021 and rejoined on January 20, 2025.

Sequence of events

  1. Deposition date passes

    Navarro does not appear for the Select Committee deposition, having also not produced the documents due February 23, 2022.

  2. House holds Navarro in contempt

    The House adopts H. Res. 1037, 220–203, finding Navarro and Dan Scavino in contempt and referring them for prosecution.

  3. Indictment unsealed

    A two-count indictment for contempt of Congress, returned the previous day, is unsealed.

  4. Reports to prison

    Navarro begins serving his four-month sentence.

  5. Conviction affirmed

    The D.C. Circuit affirms; the government had been deemed to have withdrawn from the appeal.

Sources

  1. United States v. Peter K. Navarro, No. 24-3006 (D.C. Cir. July 21, 2026), opinion by Judge Millett — U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
  2. Trump adviser loses appeal of January 6-related contempt of Congress conviction — CNN
  3. Peter Navarro begins serving prison sentence after historic contempt prosecution — CNN
  4. DOJ declines to prosecute Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino as Navarro is indicted — NPR
  5. H. Res. 1037, 117th Congress (as agreed to by the House, April 6, 2022) — U.S. House of Representatives (via GovInfo)
  6. Appeals court denies Peter Navarro bid to rehear contempt challenge: 'Always headed to Supreme Court' — Washington Examiner
  7. Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-Present) — U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney Capture lost in the August 2026 host failure — SHA-256 1e19221a25e2c89d071c2ff12c544d553f9898dc245ebd3cba1b670638cfcd41 preserved in the published evidence index. Wayback copy (third-party archive copy, not our capture)

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