Even as a federal grand jury on Friday indicted Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to former President Donald J. Trump, for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Capitol attack of Jan. 6, 2021, the Justice Department has decided not to charge two other Trump associates, Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino Jr.
The indictment against Navarro, handed up in federal court in D.C., represented the first time that an official laboring in the Trump White House during the events of 1/6, has been charged in connection with the Capitol attack probe, the New York Times noted.
Prosecutors charged Navarro, 72, with failing to appear for a deposition or provide documents to congressional investigators in response to a subpoena issued by the House committee several months ago. The indictment includes two counts of criminal contempt of Congress.
But in contrast with the handling of the Navarro case, the Times said, DOJ won't take similar steps with Meadows, who was Trump’s chief of staff, or Scavino, the deputy chief of staff. The paper cited people familiar with prosecutors’ decision and a letter reviewed by the Times that notified the top House counsel.
"Based on the individual facts and circumstances of their alleged contempt, my office will not be initiating prosecutions for criminal contempt as requested in the referral against Messrs. Meadows and Scavino,” the Friday letter to the House counsel said, the Times reported. It was from Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for D.C., the report said.
Meadows and Scavino reportedly engaged in weeks of negotiations with the committee’s lawyers, and Meadows turned over thousands of documents to the House panel, all ahead of them being hit with contempt charges.
Both were alleged to have taken part in efforts to invalidate the 2020 election over Trump claims of election fraud, and the Capitol attack involved protesters looking to halt certification of Joe Biden's victory over Trump.
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