Jury in former Trump advisor Peter Navarro's Contempt of Congress trial seated

A jury was set for the criminal trial of former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a process that some are speculating will be quick and possibly unjust as well.

CNN reported that Tuesday marks the start of “what’s expected to be a speedy trial for the one-time aide to former President Donald Trump,” and The Hill noted that Judge Mehta characterized Navarro’s legal arguments as “pretty weak sauce” during pre-trial hearings last week.

“There was no formal invocation of executive privilege by [Trump] after personal consideration nor authorization to Mr. Navarro to invoke privilege on his behalf,” Mehta said. 

The two counts of contempt Navarro is currently facing could land him anywhere from 10 days to an entire year in prison. 

Navarro has already said that should he be convicted, he plans to request for higher courts to look at the legal merits of the case. 

“These are questions that will certainly move up the chains – the appellate level. And as I said at the beginning, this is probably going to the Supreme Court because this is so important,” Navarro said when speaking with reporters last week. “You can’t have a Congress, a partisan Congress, that abuses the subpoena process for the purpose of punishing the party that’s out of power.”

At trial, it is expected that prosecutors will call three witnesses to the stand, all of whom are former committee staffers. Meanwhile, Navarro's defense attorney, Stanley Woodward, has said he will bring up just one witness: an FBI special agent.

Much like former Trump admin official Steve Bannon, the congressional January 6 committee asked for Navarro to be held in contempt after he refused to honor subpoenas issued by that committee. Bannon was found guilty of two counts of criminal contempt last summer and is currently filing for an appeal via the DC US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The committee that had summoned Navarro was formed under the leadership of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS). The two counts he was ultimately charged with were for not having provided documents and then not appearing for the deposition. Navarro cited executive privilege, per his then-boss President Donald Trump.

Navarro was infamously not permitted to contact an attorney after he was arrested at Washington DC's National Airport while trying to board a flight to Nashville in June 2022. Judge Mehta, who had reportedly referred to Navarro’s legal arguments as weak, acknowledged that the way his arrest was handled was “curious,” and questioned why a “self-surrender was not offered” as Navarro’s alleged offense is “not a violent crime.”