Then-White House Deputy Communications Director Dan Scavino delivered a recorded speech to the Republican National Convention on August 26, 2020, in the empty Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC
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Then-White House Deputy Communications Director Dan Scavino delivered a recorded speech to the Republican National Convention on August 26, 2020, in the empty Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC
Chip Somodevilla / Getty
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to ban former Trump White House aides Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino for contempt of Congress after they defied subpoenas from the select committee investigating the attack. January 6 to the Capitol.
The move follows a Democratic-led panel last month approved a contempt report against Navarro, a former commercial adviser, and Scavino, a former deputy chief of staff.
The 220-203 vote, which was voted largely by party lines, triggered a series of steps to send a criminal referral to the U.S. attorney’s office, leaving the Justice Department to decide whether to prosecute. denounce or not.
Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, the only two Republicans to agree to serve on the selection committee, were the only two in their party to vote for the recommendation.
“Encountered with this obstruction, this kind of mocking behavior, as we investigate a violent insurgency, is despicable,” Selection Committee Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, said in the House of Representatives. House before the vote. “Can’t stand it. Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro must be held accountable for abuses of public trust. They must be held accountable for behavior that defies the law. They despise Congress, it’s a crime. .”
The vote comes after a day of heated debate on the House floor as Republicans attacked the committee’s work and instead used stalling tactics to divert attention to immigration concerns. For example, more than 60 Republicans had asked during the previous debate to introduce an alternative border security bill.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy protested the committee for launching a “political demonstration trial” that used the uprising as a “blank check” for its investigation. McCarthy also called his work a “disgusting betrayal of the Constitution” and said the introductions were about “criminalizing dissent.”
McCarthy vows to shut down the panel if Republicans take control of the House next year – this many forecasts show they have a good chance to do.
“Do we really want to live in a country where politicians can seize your phone records, force your testimony and ignore your rights because they disagree with your politics? are not?” McCarthy asked. “Most Americans don’t want to live in such a country. It’s happened in Russia, communist China and North Korea and it will never happen in America. But, Mister Speaker, it’s under your control. one-party rule. But for all Americans, when we get the House back, it will stop.”
Then-US President Donald Trump and former Trade Adviser Peter Navarro inspect an all-electric pickup from Endurance on the South Lawn of the White House on September 28, 2020.
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Then-US President Donald Trump and former Trade Adviser Peter Navarro inspect an all-electric pickup from Endurance on the South Lawn of the White House on September 28, 2020.
Photos Tasos Katopodis / Getty
That didn’t displease Cheney, the panel’s ranking Republican. She highlighted more than 800 committee interviews and depositions with witnesses, including more than a dozen former Trump White House staffers.
“As you hear my colleagues make political, partisan attacks on the selection committee, I hope we can all remember some basic facts,” Cheney said.
“We know from these interviews that President Trump and his team have been warned before and repeatedly that the efforts they made to overturn the 2020 election would violate the law and the Constitution. France,” added Cheney. “They have been warned that January 6 can and is likely to turn violent.”
Scavino and Navarro have repeatedly denied the committee’s claims, saying executive privileges prevented their cooperation with a subpoena from the Democratic-led committee. The subpoena requires them to produce documents and testify.
However, President Biden waives requests for executive privilege in both cases.
The panel issued a Report 34 pages and twenty exhibitions document the efforts to get Navarro and Scavino to work together. Scavino’s removal date has been scheduled and rescheduled six different times, Maryland Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, a Jan. 6 council member, said during Wednesday’s debate.
Navarro is subpoena in Februarywhile Scavino is among the first wave of former Trump officials subpoenaed last September.
Wednesday’s floor vote marks the third attempt to introduce crime related to the committee’s work on January 6. The House had previously approved criminal referrals for former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
So far, the Justice Department has only prosecuted one of those cases, Bannon, who is currently battling related criminal charges.
In each case, a subpoenaed witness could face up to one year in prison for each count of contempt, plus a fine of up to $1,000 per count.
