Peter Navarro, a key ally of former President Donald Trump, reacted to his historic verdict on Fox News on Friday, saying it was “not a good day for America.”
Mr. Navarro appeared on “Hannity” to discuss the recent ruling and the apparent change in Justice Department precedent. Fox News host Sean Hannity stressed that President Joe Biden's son Hunter received no similar punishment despite being held in contempt of Congress, and asked Trump allies about sentencing. Asked.
Navarro insisted the Justice Department was trying to put Trump in prison with him and said he was not “playing around.” The Trump ally went on to stress that he is the “first senior White House adviser” to be indicted on “criminal charges” for defying a subpoena, calling the ruling “in violation” of the Constitution. He clarified his position on why he thinks there is.
“Sean, if anyone thinks they're not going to put Donald Trump in prison for 700 years, think about what they did to me yesterday. They're not fooling around. 4 months in prison. They even want to put me in jail before I can appeal this case. And they want to put Mr. Trump in jail and get him out of the Oval Office, and they want to put me in jail before I can appeal this case. I hope someone like that can't help Mr. Trump,” Navarro said.
“I'm the first senior White House adviser to be indicted on this charge. And the irony here, Sean, is that the Department of Justice itself has a policy that says senior advisers like me can never be forced to testify before Congress. Why? Because it violates the constitutional separation of powers and impedes executive privilege's ability to provide effective decision-making for the president. And that's where we stand now. By the way.”
“I have a great case, and from day one, Sean, I've said from the beginning that this is going to go to the Supreme Court. This is what we call a first impression case with significant constitutional issues. Congress is senior. Can aides be forced to testify? According to Justice Department policy, the answer is no. And there are other issues related to that. Joe Biden himself intervened in this case and Donald Trump became president. “It's absolutely bizarre that he said he could revoke presidential privileges as soon as he took office, but this is ridiculous. Brett Kavanaugh has already said that's ridiculous,” Navarro said.
Navarro went on to say that a prison sentence is not just a “death penalty” given his age, and emphasized his previous work with Trump. (Related: Trump ally Peter Navarro sentenced to prison after Biden Justice Department's unprecedented move)
“But what I want people to know is, they can come after me, they can come after Trump, they can come after you. And given the life expectancy in America, , 4 months in prison at my age is effectively a death sentence. To me, this is why we must elect Donald Trump in 2024 and let him participate in the presidential race. As you told me, Sean, our economy is in disarray, our borders are in disarray, and our enemies are closing in,” Navarro said.
“When I was in the White House for four years, we helped save hundreds of thousands of lives during the pandemic and created hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs. What do we get for that? ?I was charged with a crime that no one had ever been charged with before, served 4 months in prison, and now they are even trying to deny me my freedom while I appeal this case all the way to the Supreme Court.? So this is different — yesterday was not a good day for America.”
Navarro was sentenced Thursday to four months in prison for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena from the committee on Jan. 6. The Trump ally was required to pay a $9,500 fine in addition to his prison sentence, and Chief Judge Amit P. Mehta said his position was not to use a “magic spell” or “get out of jail” to ignore the demands. “It's not a card,” he said. .
