Jan. 6 panel makes contempt case against former Trump aides

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The House Select Committee investigating the US Capitol riot issued a report Sunday night recommending that former Trump advisors Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino face contempt of Congress charges for failing to comply with subpoenas.

According to Axios' Andrew Solender, this is the fourth time the panel has made such a recommendation about the Jan. 6, 2021 insurgency, a tactic they employ when hostile witnesses fail to comply with their subpoenas.

In its report, the panel stated that it had sought to accommodate Scavino by delaying his deposition six times since last September.

Read more: Jan. 6 riot committee calls Ivanka Trump to testify

"Despite all these extensions, to date, Mr. Scavino has not produced a single document, nor has he appeared for testimony," the select committee wrote. Navarro did not appear for a deposition earlier this month.

"Mr. Navarro had a brief exchange with Select Committee staff after accepting service of the subpoena and also made public comments indicating that he would not appear or provide documents as required by the subpoena," the report states.

According to Solender, Scavino's subpoena notes his proximity to then-President Trump on Jan. 5, 2021, as the White House strategized how to persuade senators to overturn the election and during the attack on the Capitol.

According to the subpoena, Navarro planned to "launch a plan to delay" Congress' certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Read more: Jan. 6: Who do Americans hold responsible?

On the other hand, last Thursday, Navarro told Axios that the panel, which comprises two Republicans, has begun an "unprecedented partisan assault on executive privilege," which was invoked by former President Trump.

Lawyers for Scavino have argued that President Biden doesn't have "authority to waive executive privilege over the testimony of a former president's senior aide," the New York Times noted.

It's important to note that Trump has filed a lawsuit to prevent the National Archives and Records Administration from giving records to the Jan. 6 panel, claiming that doing so would "severely damage executive privilege."

However, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision last month that stated that while Trump might declare executive privilege, the sitting president was not required to follow it.

The New York Times reported that the panel was scheduled to hold a public vote on whether to recommend charges against Navarro and Scavino on Monday.

If the charges are recommended, the Democratic-controlled House will vote on whether the case should be referred to the Justice Department.

Following the panel's findings, the House voted last year to hold former White House strategist Steve Bannon and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in contempt.

Last December, the panel also accepted a contempt referral for former Trump Justice Department employee Jeffrey Clark. However, he and Meadows eventually agreed to work together.

The Department of Justice accused Bannon of two charges of contempt.