Then-Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro speaks to members of the press outside the West Wing of the White House June 18, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Donald Trump’s former trade advisor Peter Navarro made his first court appearance after being arrested and charged with criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with an issued subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
A defiant Navarro, 72, came out swinging at Friday’s afternoon hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui.
“I have some things to share with the court, if you’ll indulge me,” Navarro told Faruqui, signaling his intention to represent himself in this case despite being “happy” to be represented at the hearing by the federal public defender who had been appointed for purposes of this initial appearance.
Faruqui cautioned Navarro that he must be “100% truthful” with whatever he said in court, or risk facing additional charges, but then allowed him to continue.
“When I was arrested, I was prevented from making a phone call,” Navarro said. “They refused that. I found myself in the position of being in a jail cell without the ability to have any discussions, and here we are. I think [that is] prosecutorial misconduct. That’s not the only thing that’s happened so far, which we can talk about.”
Faruqui said he takes such allegations very seriously.
“In all cases, the government has the obligation and duties to treat people fairly,” Faruqui said. “Not just fairly, but humanely. These are human beings, all of us here, and we have to be treated as…
