The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request from Donald Trump's former adviser Peter Navarro to avoid further prison time for his contempt of Congress conviction.
Navarro, 74, was convicted last year on two counts of contempt of Congress. One count was for failing to produce documents related to the investigation, and the other was for skipping his deposition before the select panel investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
In an emergency request last month, he had sought to remain free while challenging his conviction, but Chief Justice John Roberts denied his request, leading Navarro to report to prison.
He then resubmitted the request to Justice Neil Gorsuch, who referred it to the full court. The court considered the request during a closed-door conference on Friday and ultimately denied it on Monday without comment.
Navarro's legal team contended that pausing the lower court's ruling that denied his request to avoid prison was justified because he posed no flight risk and was raising significant legal issues.
He said his appeal would present numerous issues likely to lead to the reversal of his conviction or a new trial. However, both lower courts rejected similar appeals made by Navarro.
Chief Justice Roberts rejected his request in a brief opinion last month, saying that the federal appeals courts had determined Navarro forfeited any challenge to the notion that he could avoid appearing before Congress, even if he was entitled to executive privilege. Roberts saw no reason to disagree with this determination.
Navarro's defense attorneys expressed frustration with the decision, saying that it severely limited their ability to mount a defense.
Just before reporting to prison in March, Navarro held a press conference where he criticized the judicial process, accusing the district and appellate judges involved in his case of being biased Democrats from "start to finish".
With the Supreme Court's decision, it is expected that Navarro will serve his four-month prison term before his appeal of the conviction is heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was also convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a January 6 committee subpoena and was sentenced to four months in prison.
However, a different judge ruled that he could remain free while awaiting appeal. Bannon's case was argued before a federal appeals court in November, but as of now, he has not served any time in prison.
