Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro wants to be able to tell a jury the former president directed him to defy a congressional subpoena, but on Wednesday a federal judge in Washington wasn’t so sure.
Throughout the nearly two-hour hearing, Judge Amit P. Mehta questioned prosecutors and Navarro’s lawyers about how to handle the complications presented by the prosecution of a former presidential aide on two contempt of Congress charges.
Mehta didn’t rule immediately on that issue about the jury, one of the largest outstanding questions ahead of a trial set for Sept. 5. The charges stem from Navarro’s refusal to cooperate with the House select panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
