Chief Justice John Roberts denied a request to delay Peter Navarro’s four-month sentence on Monday. This means that the former Trump advisor will have to report to a satellite camp of the federal Bureau of Prisons in Miami, which is rated as low-security. Roberts was assigned the case because he oversees emergency matters arising out of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals.
The committee subpoenaed him but he refused to show up. He was found guilty in 2023 on two counts of contempt for Congress — for not producing documents and for skipping the deposition.
BREAKING: Chief Justice Roberts, acting as circuit justice, DENIES Peter Navarro’s request to stay out of prison during his appeal. Navarro is due to report to prison this week for his four-month sentence following his contempt of Congress conviction. https://t.co/4ykz1lx2s2 pic.twitter.com/bvPtjE0ZWS
— Chris “Law Dork” Geidner (@chrisgeidner) March 18, 2024
Roberts wrote in his decision:
Roberts wrote that “this application only concerns the question of whether or not the applicant, Peter Navarro has met his obligation to establish his eligibility to relief under the Bail Reform Act,” citing the decision by an appeals court that Navarro had “forfeited any argument” challenging the district’s court’s conclusion Trump did not invoke executive privilege.
I see no reason to disagree with Navarro’s forfeiture of these arguments in the release proceedings, which are separate from his pending appeal for the merits.
Navarro, after Roberts denied his request, posted on social media to say that the whole process was a danger to our democratic traditions.
Here is the statement I issued after Justice John Roberts decided to reject my release pending appeal.
STATEMENT OF PETER NAVARRO RE: SCOTUS DECISION
Justice Roberts took care to note that his reason for denial was “distinct from [my] pending appeal on the merits.” That appeal…— Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) March 19, 2024
Navarro wrote:
Every American should be shocked by the partisan nature of the imprisonment of a senior White House official. Joe Biden’s weaponized justice system saw a Democrat-controlled Congress and Justice Department, along with a District Judge appointed by Obama and three Appeals Court judges appointed by Obama, drive the Navarro train straight into prison. These partisans in robes will not spare Donald Trump.
Navarro is the first ex-White House official to be jailed for contempt of Congress. Eric Holder was found in contempt of Congress in 2012 after he failed to provide requested documents regarding the Fast and Furious scandal. However, he was Obama’s Attorney General at the time, so there were no DOJ charges.
Sam Mangel, Navarro’s prison consultant, said the prison is located right next to a zoo.
“Not only can one hear the lions, but they also roar in the morning …”
Mangel said to CNN that Navarro was nervous. “Anyone, no matter how long their sentence is, will be entering an unknown world.”
Mangel is part of an industry that helps wealthy convicts prepare for their time in prison. He said he talked with Navarro on Monday.
Mangel stated that Navarro, 74 years old, will have little privacy and need to find work.
Mangel told Navarro that he would need to enroll in classes and find a job within the prison. He was encouraged by the prison consultant to apply for a job as an orderly or law library clerk so that he could spend the summer months in air conditioning.
Navarro, given his age will also ask to be placed in a dorm for older inmates. This dormitory houses around 80 men in bunk beds.
Mangel stated, “There is no privacy in the dormitory. It can be intimidating and scary, but he’ll be fine.”
Navarro may be the latest in a long line of Trumpworld convicts, but if Democrats get their way he will not be the last. They are determined to use the legal system for political purposes and have seen some success. If and when the GOP returns to power, they may regret it, because payback will be a female canine.
