House holds Trump aides Peter Navarro, Dan Scavino in contempt for defying Jan. 6 subpoenas

WASHINGTON – The House voted Wednesday to hold Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino, aides to former President Donald Trump, in contempt for defying subpoenas in the investigation of the Capitol attack and urged the Justice Department to charge them criminally.

"Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro must be held accountable for the abuse of the public trust and defiance of the law," said the committee chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. "They are in contempt of Congress, which is a crime."

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., called the vote un-American.

“It might feel really good in a vindictive sort of way to vote to put their political opponents behind bars," Banks said. "That might feel really good for my opponents across the aisle, but I guarantee you, that history will not look back kindly on those actions in the years to come."

The 220-203 vote, almost entirely along partisan lines, sent the recommendation for possible prosecution to the department. Only two Republicans – Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who serve on the committee – joined Democrats in the vote.

Related video: House holds Mark Meadows in contempt for defying Jan. 6 subpoena

The Justice Department is already prosecuting former Trump strategist Steve Bannon and considering whether to charge former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. But members of the House committee investigating the attack, which is authorized to complete its work this year, have voiced impatience with the department’s pace.

Attorney General Merrick Garland declined to comment Wednesday on the Jan. 6 investigation. But he said in Meadows' case, federal prosecutors in D.C. would "follow the facts and the law wherever they lead. We don't comment any further on investigations."

Cheney said more than 800 witnesses have provided information to the committee, including the former president's daughter Ivanka Trump among a dozen former White House staffers.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said the committee issued three subpoenas to Scavino and scheduled six deposition dates to try to accommodate him. Raskin said Navarro went through similar “evasions and contortions” to avoid producing documents and testimony, with “all of it leading to his open contempt and mockery for this process and for the rule of law.”

During floor debate Wednesday, scores of Republicans sought to derail the contempt order by debating immigration legislation instead, but were rejected. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the committee used the Jan. 6 riot as a blank check to trample on civil rights and congressional norms in a partisan investigation.

“Today’s resolution is about criminalizing dissent," McCarthy said.

More: Jan. 6 committee examines how Capitol riot unfolded – and how to prevent it from happening again

Navarro, a former trade adviser, has refused to testify, citing executive privilege to keep communications with Trump confidential. In his 2021 book “In Trump Time,” Navarro described the scheme to delay certification of the 2020 election of President Joe Biden as the “Green Bay Sweep” and said it was the “last, best chance to snatch a stolen election from the Democrats’ jaws of deceit.”

Navarro said in a later interview that Trump was “on board with the strategy,” according to the committee. The panel seeks documents about the plan and testimony.

Navarro replied in an email Feb. 28 and letter March 1 that he wouldn’t cooperate unless Trump waived executive privilege.

The Supreme Court refused in January to block the release of Trump documents from the National Archives and Records Administration, despite Trump’s claims of executive privilege. Lower courts ruled that Biden’s waiver of privilege for the investigation as sitting president outweighed Trump’s claim.

But Republicans argued the Trump case dealt only with documents rather than testimony. "This is not a settled question," said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D.

Scavino, a former deputy chief of staff, spread false information about election fraud and helped recruit the crowd to Washington for Trump’s rally Jan. 6, 2021. After the rally, a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol, where 140 police officers were injured and the counting of Electoral College votes temporarily halted.

More: Who has been subpoenaed so far by the Jan. 6 committee?

The committee seeks information from Scavino, who managed Trump's social media accounts, about the former president's activities leading up to the riot and on that day.

Scavino’s lawyers, Stan Brand and Stanley Woodward, called the committee’s demands “prosecution tactics” that exemplify “a pattern and practice of intimidation and disregard for the rule of law.”

Contributing: Kevin Johnson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump aides Navarro, Scavino held in contempt; DOJ charges urged