Peter Navarro, former President Donald Trump's White House adviser, has said the legal case against him is costing him $1.7 million in fees—a staggering sum that's leading him to ask for more financial help from his supporters.
The 74-year-old former Trump official was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress in early June 2022 after he refused to cooperate with the House Committee investigating the January 6 attack.
According to the indictment, Navarro was charged with one contempt count involving his refusal to appear for a deposition and another involving his refusal to produce documents, despite a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.
Each count of contempt of Congress carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, on top of a fine of up to $100,000. Navarro has pleaded not guilty.
The case is expected to go on trial next week in the U.S. District Court in Washington, despite Navarro's attempts to evade contempt charges by claiming that he was barred by executive privilege from providing testimony and turning over a list of documents to the Jan. 6 committee.
He said that Trump asked him to defy the subpoena invoking executive privilege. "President Trump has invoked Executive Privilege in this matter. ... Accordingly, my hands are tied," he wrote to the Jan. 6 committee in an email.
The federal judge overseeing his case, Judge Amit P. Mehta, refused Navarro's argument on Monday, calling them "pretty weak sauce." Navarro will now be unable to tell the jury in his case that he refused to comply with the House committee's subpoena because of executive privilege.
Talking on the Real America's Voice show War Room last week, Navarro said he has only raised $360,000 in donations to help with his legal fees, but said that the case is going to cost him much more.
"I wanna thank everyone who sent me money as well as their prayers, but this case is going to cost me through trial probably about $750,000 and then the appeal process all the way up to the Court of Appeal and likely the Supreme Court will be another million."
Peter Navarro’s trial is next week. He says this case will cost him $1.7 million in legal fees and he has only raised $360K in donations, so he needs people to urgently send more money. pic.twitter.com/5sLe8T8fdJ
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 2, 2023
Navarro urged people to make more donations so that he could sustain the legal cost of his defense. On his profile on X, formerly known as Twitter, the one-time Trump official asked his followers to send him money and "fight back against Biden's weaponized Department of Injustice."
"If I lose, I face up to two years in prison for simply doing my duty to my country, the Constitution, and my Commander-in-Chief," Navarro wrote on his crowdfunding page.
In his latest update, he told his supporters he needs to raise "another $150,000 in the next two weeks."
According to the website, Navarro has raised $403,996 so far since launching the crowdfunding last year. His goal is currently $495,000.
