“I don’t privation to bash that,” Woodward said.
“Then, what bash I do?” the justice replied.
Navarro, who was an state successful Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 predetermination and orchestrate efforts by legislature Republicans to situation Joe Biden’s victory, contends that Trump privately told him to asseverate enforcement privilege alternatively than attest astir his contacts with the erstwhile president successful the run-up to Jan. 6. The sheet wants to interrogation Navarro astir his contacts with Trump amid the erstwhile president’s multifaceted effort to prehend a 2nd word helium didn’t win.
Navarro has publically described processing a strategy for Republican members of Congress to situation the predetermination results and assistance bargain clip to person authorities legislatures to regenerate slates of Biden statesmanlike electors with pro-Trump electors. His spouse successful this strategy, longtime Trump state Steve Bannon, was precocious sentenced to a four-month jailhouse word for his ain condemnation connected contempt of Congress for likewise defying the prime committee.
Whether a erstwhile president tin successfully asseverate enforcement privilege to sideline a legislature enquiry is simply a comparatively untested ineligible question. Whether helium tin bash truthful erstwhile the sitting president — Biden — has rejected specified a assertion is adjacent little apt to past a ineligible challenge. But Mehta said helium was struggling to face the question due to the fact that helium has nary grounds Trump ever asserted the privilege successful the archetypal place.
“You haven’t fixed maine anything,” the justice said to Woodward. “The conception that a tribunal is expected to work beverage leaves erstwhile it comes to the invocation of a statesmanlike privilege seems to maine to beryllium – I’m mystified by that.”
Woodward said each helium could connection was an assurance that Navarro and Trump were regularly successful interaction — and that Navarro believed that’s what Trump wanted him to do.
Mehta pressed astir who could beryllium that specified a speech occurred.
“Two people,” Woodward replied – alluding to Navarro and Trump. In summation to resisting immoderate effort to question Trump’s testimony, Woodward said Navarro was besides improbable to attest fixed his Fifth Amendment close to stay soundless during his ain transgression proceedings.
Woodward besides suggested that 2 expansive assemblage witnesses — a Trump lawyer whom helium didn’t sanction and Trump run spokeswoman Liz Harrington — had confirmed that Trump and Navarro maintained nonstop communication.
The Trump attorney, Woodward said, indicated that helium didn’t nonstop a missive to the prime committee connected Trump’s behalf due to the fact that helium thought Navarro was already alert of Trump’s presumption and could relay it himself. When asked whether she believed Trump had asserted privilege of Navarro’s testimony, Harrington told the expansive jury, “I ideate so,” Woodward said.
Mehta appeared improbable to enactment Navarro’s effort to disregard the lawsuit but was wrestling with the tangle of vague and mostly untested precedent and Justice Department opinions related to legislature subpoenas against erstwhile members of the enforcement branch.
Late successful the Friday hearing, Mehta said helium is going to effort to support Navarro’s proceedings connected way to statesman Nov. 16, but that commencement is contingent connected Mehta wrapping up an adjacent higher-profile proceedings for members of the Oath Keepers related to the storming of the Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021.
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