Jan. 6 committee subpoenas former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol has subpoenaed Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to former President Trump, pointing to passages from his own book in arguing he appears to have been involved in plans to delay certification of the presidential election.

“You, then a White House trade advisor, reportedly worked with Steve Bannon and others to develop and implement a plan to delay Congress’s certification of, and ultimately change the outcome of, the November 2020 election,” the committee wrote in its subpoena.

“In your book you reportedly described this plan as the ‘Green Bay Sweep’ and stated that it was designed as ‘the last best chance to snatch a stolen election from the Democrats’ jaws of deceit.’”

Navarro released his book “In Trump Time: My Journal of America’s Plague Year,” in November of last year.

“Mr. Navarro appears to have information directly relevant to the Select Committee’s investigation into the causes of the January 6th attack on the Capitol,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, said in a statement.

“He hasn’t been shy about his role in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and has even discussed the former President’s support for those plans,” he added. 

The subpoena noted that Navarro expanded on those plans when promoting his book, with the letter pointing to comments that Trump “was on board with the strategy” along with other lawmakers.

“We spent a lot of time lining up over 100 congressmen, including some senators. It started out perfectly. At 1 p.m., Gosar and Cruz did exactly what was expected of them,” Navarro told The Daily Beast in an interview last December. 

“It was a perfect plan. And it all predicated on peace and calm on Capitol Hill. We didn’t even need any protestors, because we had over 100 congressmen committed to it.”

The subpoena takes a not-so-subtle dig at Navarro’s media tour, pressing him to join the more than 500 people that have already spoken with the committee.

“Because you have already discussed these and other relevant issues in your recently published book, in interviews with reporters, and, among other places, on a podcast, we look forward to discussing them with you, too,” it states.

Navarro’s efforts were not limited to his book. We also launched a three-part series on his website, dubbed the Navarro Report, which claims to “provide a demonstration that President Trump had a good faith belief that the November 3, 2020 Presidential election results, were, indeed, the poisonous fruit of widespread fraud and election irregularities.” 

Navarro on Wednesday afternoon suggested he would be unable to speak to the committee due to purported executive privilege concerns from Trump. Trump has not made such a claim in regards to Navarro and has thus far had little success in court in seeking to block the release of his presidential records on such grounds. 

The Justice Department is also currently prosecuting Bannon, Trump’s one-time strategist, for contempt of Congress after he refused to appear for his deposition with similar claims.

“As the domestic terrorists running the January 6 partisan witch hunt are well aware, President Trump has invoked Executive Privilege; and it is not my privilege to waive.  They should negotiate any waiver of the privilege with the president and his attorneys directly, not through me,” Navarro said in a statement.

His statement goes on to direct people to his Chapter 21 of his book to learn more

“The last three people on God’s good earth who wanted chaos and violence on Capitol Hill were President Trump, Steve Bannon, and I.  Why did [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, the Capitol Hill police, and the Pentagon leave the perimeter unguarded?” he said.

The subpoena asks Navarro to produce documents later this month and appear for a deposition on March 2. 

—Updated at 5:17 p.m.