Peter Navarro complains about potential legal fees: ‘I’ll be eating dog food if I stay out of jail’

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN Reporter, Criminal offense and Justice

Former Donald Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro, who is remaining prosecuted for contempt of Congress, instructed a federal judge on Wednesday that he is “at a serious disadvantage” due to the fact he has no attorney five days following his arrest.

He also continued to converse publicly on Wednesday about his function with Trump around January 6, although nonetheless refusing to present that info to the House decide on committee investigating the US Capitol assault.

Navarro has reported he ideas to symbolize himself in court docket. Also Wednesday, prosecutors from the Section of Justice questioned for a protecting order barring Navarro from disclosing any proof he receives in the case, specially since he continues to do media appearances about his predicament, developing a opportunity “carnival environment.”

“Clearly, the prosecution’s tactic is to choose gain of an specific with out enough illustration,” Navarro reported in a letter to the choose, Amit Mehta of the DC District Court, that was built public in his scenario file. “My quite independence right here is at stake and I talk to for the court’s understanding that it will consider time the two to uncover the acceptable illustration and time to establish an suitable authorized system.”

In an interview on Fox News Wednesday afternoon, Navarro said employing a law firm would charge so significantly, he would drop his retirement financial savings.

“This is likely to value a 50 % a million bucks, from what I’m staying told,” he claimed. “I’ll be taking in pet dog foods if I continue to be out of jail.”

On Fox, Navarro once again spoke about what he considered was Trump’s considering all over January 6 — saying the President and Steve Bannon did not want violence.

Navarro has mentioned he refuses to comply with Property subpoenas in search of info about his interactions with Trump for the reason that he has immunity, and emails from Pence advisers that are now community make obvious Trump advisers realized he would refuse to do what they wished.

Bannon is also experiencing contempt costs for failing to testify to the Household or flip around documents and has pleaded not responsible.

The Justice Department’s ask for, if granted, could shut down Navarro’s capability to converse as freely about his charges. Even so, the DOJ is not inquiring for a so-termed gag get at this time.

Navarro’s interviews so far “demonstrate a sizeable chance that, with no a protecting get, the Defendant will use non-general public discovery for incorrect applications as a substitute of to put together the protection he options to present in advance of this Court docket,” prosecutors from the DC US Attorney’s Office wrote on Wednesday. “The Defendant has demonstrated by means of his general public statements that he intends to litigate the deserves of the pending expenses in the press.”

The prosecutors also explained in the court filing the varieties of evidence they’ve gathered for Navarro’s contempt circumstance. That features witness interviews with law enforcement and prior to a federal grand jury, communications concerning Navarro and other folks who are unnamed at this time, and information about Navarro’s cell phone and e-mail accounts.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable Information Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Enterprise. All rights reserved.