Judge threatens ex-Trump aide Navarro with contempt in records fight [View all]
Source: Politico
02/20/2024 01:10 PM EST
A federal judge threatened Tuesday to hold former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro in contempt of court for defying her order to return dozens — and perhaps hundreds — of presidential records to the National Archives.
“It is clear that Defendant continues to possess Presidential records that have not been produced to their rightful owner, the United States,” U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a six-page opinion after reviewing a subset of records Navarro had argued were his personal documents and did not need to be returned to the government.
Kollar-Kotelly, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, is giving Navarro until March 21 to review 600 records to determine whether additional government files are among them — or else face a potential contempt citation. She also said she plans to refer the matter to a magistrate judge to wade through the records and make sure the government gets those to which it is entitled.
It’s the latest legal headache for Navarro, who is slated to report to federal prison within weeks for a 2023 conviction for defying a subpoena from the congressional Jan. 6 select committee. A judge earlier this month rejected Navarro’s bid to remain free while he appeals his conviction. That judge, Amit Mehta, sentenced Navarro to a four-month prison term in January.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/20/judge-trump-navarro-legal-00142196
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