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Biden’s DOJ moves to gag Trump adviser Peter Navarro as he accuses government of ‘terrorism’ and ‘coercion’

June 9, 2022 | | Print Article

Following the very public and not-at-all carnival-like arrest of former Trump adviser Peter Navarro in the middle of a DC-area airport on a contempt of Congress charge, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is now attempting to slap a gag order on the outspoken economist in order to prevent a “carnival atmosphere” from developing around his trial.

Fearing that Navarro — who, after his arrest and subsequent Friday court appearance, immediately addressed the very public way in which he was handcuffed and hauled into custody to all who would listen — would use grand jury evidence for “improper purposes,” prosecutors urged the court to muzzle him.

Citing appearances on Fox News in which Navarro likened his treatment to that of an “Al Qaeda terrorist,” prosecutors argued that the embattled advisor does not yet have legal representation and may use discovery materials for, as the Daily Mail described it, “a media campaign.”

“The defendant’s extrajudicial statements, however, demonstrate a substantial risk that, without a protective order, the defendant will use non-public discovery for improper purposes instead of to prepare the defense he plans to present before this court,” prosecutors claimed.

According to Navarro, the DOJ is attempting to exploit his lack of legal representation, but the DOJ is alleging that the lack of a lawyer only makes Navarro more dangerous.

“The defendant has demonstrated through his public statements that he intends to litigate the merits of the pending charges in the press,” prosecutors stated.

“Moreover,” they continued, “proceeding pro se, the defendant does not have an attorney who can monitor his use of non-public discovery material and who is subject to the District’s clear rules limiting extrajudicial statements and other efforts to taint the jury pool,” adding that it is the court’s obligation “to avoid the ‘carnival atmosphere’ that might accompany a case receiving substantial public attention … as this case already has, due, in part, to the defendant’s press appearances.”

And, indeed, the over-the-top way in which Navarro was taken into custody has gained its share of public scrutiny.

As BizPac Review reported, Truth Social CEO and former GOP congressman David Nunes (R-Calif.) called Navarro’s arrest nothing more than a publicity stunt ahead of the House Select Committee’s first televised  Jan. 6 hearing.

“This is all part of the buildout for [the Democrats’] latest installment of their hoax theatrics, right?” Nunes told Newsmax TV’s Eric Bolling on Monday. “You have to remember… I was there for the first three.”

“You had the Russia hoax, the first impeachment hoax, the second impeachment hoax,” he continued. “They’ve all failed, they’ve all bombed. I mean, they’re very willing to say they’re building narratives, and now they’ve even went outside because the first three bombed, I guess they think they’ll hire this guy from ABC.”

The comment refers to the hiring of former ABC News president James Goldston to help produce the House’s prime time extravaganza.

Tucker Carlson likened Navarro’s arrest at Reagan International Airport to something seen in a Third World nation.

“[Federal agents] did not call his lawyer, as is customary in cases like this,” Carlson stated Monday. “They didn’t even come to his house, which, as it happens, is just feet from the FBI building, and they could have walked, but they didn’t.”

Carlson explained that Navarro “would be the last person you would talk to” if you truly wanted to discover what happened on Jan. 6, and when Navarro refused to “surrender records of his private conversations with his former boss, President Donald Trump,” Congress voted to hold him in contempt  and the Justice Department, under Merrick Garland, filed criminal charges against him — all, Carlson suggested, in a lead-up to Thursday’s big show.

“So, this is not something we’ve seen before,” Carlson said. “It’s a huge step toward the politics of the Third World, but the media whose job you thought of was to push back against power are not. They are, in fact, applauding because it turns out no punishment is too severe for those who disagree with the national news media.”

 

Meanwhile, Navarro, who is currently being represented by a public defender, has asked the court for a continuance while he assembles a proper legal team to defend him, the Daily Mail reports.

“At this point, I am very actively seeking a legal team but am facing a number of hurdles,” Navarro said in a letter to Judge Amit Mehta.

According to the Daily Mail, his next paragraph “was redacted in a public copy of the filing.”

“My very freedom here is at stake and I ask for the court’s understanding that it will take time both to find the appropriate representation and time to develop an appropriate legal strategy,” he said. “In the meantime, I ask for the requested extension and further request that the prosecution stand down on further motions designed to exploit my lack of representation until I secure representation.”

Melissa Fine
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