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April 6 (UPI) — The U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol will vote Wednesday on criminal contempt of Congress referrals for two former Trump White House staffers.
Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino refused to obey subpoenas from the committee to testify and produce documents related to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The committee voted March 27 to hold the two former Trump aides in contempt of Congress for refusal to comply with the lawful subpoenas.
If the House votes Wednesday to refer the two men for criminal prosecution is passed, criminal contempt charges will be referred to the Justice Department for review and possible prosecution. Navarro and Scavino could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000 if found guilty.
In a recent report, the committee said there is reason to believe that Navarro, a former top trade adviser to Trump, worked to “develop and implement a plan to delay Congress’ certification and ultimately change the outcome of the November 2020 presidential election.”
Regarding Scavino, the committee said he worked with Trump in a “campaign to reverse the election results.” Those efforts allegedly included spreading false information via social media about election fraud and helping recruit a crowd to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
The House Jan. 6 select committee said in a report that they have reason to believe that Scavino “may have had advance warning about the potential for violence on January 6.”
The committee said in that report that they do not seek documents or testimony from Navarro about his official duties as a federal official. They want Navarro to testify about his alleged activities aimed at overturning the 2020 presidential election.
“Federal law does not allow Mr. Navarro to use his official office to attempt to affect the outcome of an election,” the committee report said.
