On May 31, 2022, Michael Sussmann, a former attorney for the Democratic National Committee, was found “not guilty” of lying to the FBI regarding his role as a “whistle-blower”.  The Federal Grand Jury that convened last year found enough probable cause to try Mr. Sussman for falsely claiming to the FBI that he was not working for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign when he raised the clarion call about the debunked ties between the Trump Organization and Russia.  His acquittal has been seen as questionable by many observers, including myself.  It is my opinion that this dubious verdict has emboldened House Democrats, as seen in their latest legal move.

On Friday, June 3, 2022, former Trump Advisor, Peter Navarro was arrested on two charges of “Contempt of Congress”.

“WASHINGTON – Former White House advisor Peter K. Navarro has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress stemming from his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 breach of the United States Capitol.”

Peter Navarro is the second Trump Advisor being indicted for “Contempt of Congress” for not appearing before the House to provide testimony and documents regarding the “January 6 attempted insurrection” at our Nation’s Capitol.  Former Trump Advisor Steve Bannon was indicted in November of 2021 by a Federal Grand Jury on two counts of “Contempt of Congress” as well.  Unlike Peter Navarro, Steve Bannon was allowed to surrender himself to the FBI and then subsequently released from custody.

Sadly, with the upcoming prime-time coverage of the January 6 Congressional Hearings, the House needed a bigger story to ensure higher ratings for their televised hearings.  Instead of being informed that he needed to turn himself in to Federal custody like Steve Bannon was, Navarro was arrested by an FBI agent while trying to board a flight to Nashville.

“Peter Navarro, a top trade adviser to the Trump administration, accused the Justice Department and FBI of heavy-handed and unfair treatment Friday after he was indicted and ‘put in leg irons,’ he said, by the FBI on contempt of Congress charges for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating last year’s Capitol riot.”

It is possibly no coincidence that Navarro’s arrest came three days after he sued the House panel in a bid to quash the subpoena.  Navarro filed a lawsuit on March 31 against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the select committee arguing that they have no legal right to hold him in contempt for refusing to cooperate with them, citing executive privilege to keep his communications with former President Donald Trump confidential.  As expected, the Democratic majority in the House has rejected those claims.  The vote to hold Navarro in contempt was mainly from Democratic Lawmakers, but also had the support of Republican Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

Peter Navarro pulled no punches.  He has very publically stated that the January 6 Congressional panel is nothing more than a kangaroo court.

“Repeated abuses by Congress in using its investigatory powers to simultaneously serve both facially valid legislative and unconstitutional judicial functions have institutionalized a partisan weaponization of Congress’ investigatory powers that now threatens the delicate balance of powers…”

House Democrats are not done yet, unfortunately.  They plan on using the Justice Department again to indict other former Trump aides, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, for declining to fully cooperate with their requests.

As we head into the mid-terms, we are going to witness a massive attempt to shift the narrative from the poor, destructive and probable immoral performance of the Democratic majority in power to the cheap, insincere, and blatantly false allegations that President Trump and his advisors planned the “January 6 insurrection”.  In my humble opinion, that’s all they have to run on in 2022 as well as in the elections in 2024. Keeping this blatant lie alive and using Law Enforcement and Federal Court resources to perpetuate this falsehood is truly insulting.