Peter Navarro Reveals Donald Trump Helped Pay Legal Bills Worth $300,000 for Contempt of Congress Case

Peter Navarro, a former Trump administration official, disclosed in a recent interview with MSNBC's Ari Melber that former President Donald Trump had contributed approximately $300,000 towards covering Navarro's legal fees when the former was charged with contempt of Congress. Navarro, who was convicted earlier this month, shared that his legal expenses exceeded $600,000 and anticipated that the total cost would reach a million dollars, at the very least. 

Navarro told MSNBC, "This will be a million-dollar case, and Ari, part of the problem here is this lawfare, this notion of that if you can’t put me in prison, you can at least bankrupt me. I’m not a wealthy guy. I wasn’t one of the wealthy guys in the Trump administration. All I ever did was create jobs, save lives, and settle labor strikes, and I thought I did the honorable productive service to this country, and now I’m stuck with a lot of legal bills."

When asked by Melber whether he had personally asked Trump to assist with the $300,000 in legal bills, Navarro confirmed that he had, stating, "Sure, certainly. Look, he's been a rock on this, okay?" Navarro also highlighted, "This quibble about what a formal invocation looks like is gonna be a big part of appeals for us. Look, our view is, first of all, it’s presumptive. Second of all, every other White House, senior White House aide that ever got subpoenaed by the Pelosi Congress had privilege invoked. Some got letters, some didn’t, but it was invoked. Nobody ever got challenged."

The former Trump aide argued that the controversy surrounding what constitutes a formal invocation was an important point of contention. Navarro's legal team believed that executive privilege was invoked, while the prosecution challenged this assertion in court; Elizabeth Aloi, the prosecutor, said, "The defendant chose allegiance to former President Trump over compliance with the subpoena.  That is contempt. That is a crime." 

The case against Navarro stemmed from his refusal to cooperate with the House select committee's investigation into the Capitol riots that took place on January 6. The revelation of Trump's financial assistance in Navarro's legal defense adds another layer to the ongoing scrutiny of the January 6th investigation. Trump has consistently taken a combative stance against the committee's efforts, asserting executive privilege and encouraging individuals like Navarro to resist cooperation, as per the New York Times. It is also worth noting that Navarro is the second person from the Trump era to be convicted of contempt after White House adviser Steve Bannon, reported Al Jazeera.

As Navarro and others involved in the January 6th investigation face legal battles, the question of executive privilege's scope and applicability will continue to be a central point of contention. The financial support provided by Trump to Navarro underscores the high stakes and deep divisions surrounding this ongoing legal battle. However, it remains to be noted how Trump reacts to these claims made during the interview amidst the indictment.