WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 select committee will move Monday to hold former President Donald Trump aides Dan Scavino Jr. and Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress for not complying with subpoenas to provide testimony and documents for its investigation.
The committee is examining Navarro's and Scavino’s roles in efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. Navarro, a former trade adviser, reportedly worked closely with former Trump campaign manager Stephen K. Bannon in the final days to push a scheme that would block certification of election results on Jan. 6. Scavino, a former deputy chief of staff, was one of Trump’s closest confidants.
Among the topics the committee wants to discuss with Scavino is what he knew about threats of violence that day. As Trump’s social media manager, Scavino was visiting sites and online forums where the possibility of violence was being discussed, according to the report the committee will use to hold the two aides in contempt.
The select committee “has reason to believe that Mr. Scavino may have had advance warning about the potential for violence on January 6th,” the report states.
The committee also believes Scavino was with Trump on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, and could speak to the former president’s actions.
The committee wants to discuss with Navarro his role in efforts to convince state legislators to appoint to the Electoral College Trump-supporting electors, despite voters picking Joe Biden, and Navarro’s attempts to get the former attorney general to intervene and support Trump’s legal efforts to overturn the election.
The full House will then need to vote before the matter is referred to the Justice Department for possible criminal charges.
President Joe Biden recently rejected an attempt by both men to assert executive privilege to avoid testifying before the Jan. 6 select committee, according to a letter included in the report. The documents also detail a monthslong attempt to get the former aides to testify.
Navarro did not provide evidence that Trump has claimed privilege over any information he might have, according to the report. The committee report also states that because it wants to talk to Scavino and Navarro about work they did as private citizens or for the Trump campaign, not as government employees, no privilege would apply.
According to the committee’s report, on Feb. 27, 2022, Navarro told committee staff that “President Trump has invoked (e)xecutive (p)rivilege in this matter; and it is neither my privilege to waive or Joseph Biden’s privilege to waive.”
The House has voted to hold two former Trump officials in contempt for failing to comply with its investigation; former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Bannon.
The House has not acted on the select committee’s criminal contempt referral against former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark, who was closely involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
The Justice Department has pursued criminal charges only for Bannon, a case that is scheduled to go to trial in July. Willful refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and imprisonment for up to one year.
