The House Select Committee Investigating January 6’s Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney have issued a press release whining about the Justice Department’s decision not to indict former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Trump Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.
On Friday, former Trump advisor Peter Navarro was arrested after being indicted by a federal grand jury for criminal contempt of Congress over his refusal to cooperate with the House committee probe.
The Department of Justice previously arrested another former Trump advisor, Stephen Bannon, for also refusing to comply with a subpoena from the committee.
The House committee also requested the arrests of Meadows and Scavino.
Cheney and Thompson’s statement read as follows:
“While today’s indictment of Peter Navarro was the correct decision by the Justice Department, we find the decision to reward Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino for their continued attack on the rule of law puzzling. Mr. Meadows and Mr. Scavino unquestionably have relevant knowledge about President Trump’s role in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the events of January 6th. We hope the Department provides greater clarity on this matter. If the Department’s position is that either or both of these men have absolute immunity from appearing before Congress because of their former positions in the Trump Administration, that question is the focus of pending litigation. As the Select Committee has argued in District Court, Mark Meadows’s claim that he is entitled to absolute immunity is not correct or justified based on the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel Memoranda. No one is above the law.”
While speaking to Fox News prior to his arrest, Navarro called any possible prosecution of him “domestic terrorism.”
Speaking to MSNBC, Navarro said he would “lead the charge” to pursue charges against Biden and leading Democrats if Republicans win in 2024.
“You bet your a** that I will lead the charge,” Navarro said. “I will take Adam Schiff and Jamie Raskin and Nancy Pelosi and Rosa DeLauro — all of those clowns and kangaroos — I’ll take Biden and every single senior staff member in there–”
“And do what?” host Ari Melber asked.
“Hit them with subpoenas,” Navarro said. “We’ll start with the impeachment of Biden for Ukraine, the southern border, all manner of things he is guilty of and we’ll subpoena his senior staff.”
WATCH: Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro tells @AriMelber that he would “lead the charge” against President Biden and his advisers if Republicans win the White House in 2024 pic.twitter.com/sGNsQAzt0w
— The Beat with Ari Melber on MSNBC 📺 (@TheBeatWithAri) June 2, 2022
“I will push as hard as I can to use the same B.S. the Democrats are using now to try to put me in prison for standing up for principle,” Navarro continued. “If they want to play that game, we’ll play it right back. They’ll hit us, we hit them back harder. That’s not what I want, Ari. Let me be clear. I do not want that.”
Navarro is facing two counts, each of which could mean between 30 days and a year of jail time and a fine of up to $100,000, if he is convicted.
Public hearings from the Jan. 6 committee will begin on Thursday.
