Peter Navarro contempt of Congress trial delayed for months over executive privilege issues - CNN

CNN  — 

A national justice connected Friday delayed the contempt of Congress proceedings for erstwhile Donald Trump advisor Peter Navarro, apt for months, to let for further pre-trial statement implicit the relation enforcement privilege could play erstwhile the lawsuit goes to a jury.

Over the people of a astir two-hour proceeding Friday, US District Judge Amit Mehta grilled Justice Department prosecutors connected the presumption the section has taken, successful erstwhile interior Office of Legal Counsel opinions, that adjacent aides to a president tin beryllium immune from legislature subpoenas.

The proceedings had been scheduled to statesman connected Monday.

With the questions Mehta is raising astir enforcement privilege, the Justice Department has been enactment connected the spot to clarify its murky interpretations astir the scope of statesmanlike immunity.

During the Trump medication and successful anterior administrations, DOJ has issued interior guidance describing a sweeping “absolute immunity” that protects immoderate statesmanlike aides from having to adjacent amusement up erstwhile Congress subpoenas them for grounds – though whether specified immunity exists has been rebuffed successful court.

On Friday, prosecutors Elizabeth Aloi and John Crabb tried to skirt astir Mehta’s hypotheticals astir whether specified an immunity would person applied to Navarro had helium had been fixed a directive, arsenic the clip House January 6 committee demanded his information successful its probe, that Trump was invoking privilege successful effect to the subpoena.

Mehta noted to the prosecutors that they were successful a transgression discourse and said that “it seems to maine you ought to person immoderate beauteous wide lines earlier you prosecute someone.”

“You can’t inquire idiosyncratic to parse these OLC opinions the mode that you’re suggesting,” the justice aboriginal said.

Mehta had opened the doorway to the anticipation that Navarro could contiguous grounds astatine proceedings – perchance taking the basal – that helium had been told by Trump that the erstwhile president was invoking enforcement privilege implicit his grounds to the House January 6 committee.

So far, Navarro has offered nary grounds that Trump made a specified an invocation erstwhile helium was subpoenaed for documents and grounds by the present defunct House January 6 prime committee.

Federal prosecutors bristled astatine the thought that Navarro should inactive beryllium allowed to contiguous specified evidence, arguing that it doesn’t beryllium successful the archetypal spot and that if it did, it would not beryllium up to the assemblage to determine whether specified invocation would person shielded Navarro from the subpoena.

Mehta yet decided that the contented raised ineligible questions that needed to beryllium decided earlier trial, truthful helium postponed its Monday commencement date.

The justice did not docket a caller day for the trial, and alternatively acceptable a briefing docket connected the privilege questions that volition widen done the extremity of March.

Even arsenic they welcomed the hold and the accidental for much briefing, Navarro’s lawyers were vague connected what benignant of grounds they would question to contiguous if fixed the accidental to rise the defence that determination had been an invocation of privilege.

Navarro lawyer Stan Woodward stressed that helium could not perpetrate that Navarro would attest astatine proceedings if specified defence was allowed, fixed the risks that would travel with a cross-examination from prosecutors. At 1 constituent Woodward quipped that among the galore issues his ineligible squad would person to flooded with Navarro testifying would beryllium “calling my malpractice bearer earlier I enactment Navarro connected the stand.”

This communicative has been updated with further details.