House Expected to Back Contempt Charges for Navarro, Scavino

The Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives is expected to approve "contempt of Congress" charges Wednesday against Peter Navarro and Daniel Scavino, two former aides to President Donald Trump, over their failure to cooperate with the probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol.

Navarro, a former trade adviser to Trump, and Scavino, who was a deputy chief of staff, did not comply with subpoenas to appear before the House select committee probing the attack.

Approval by the House, where Democrats hold a slim majority, would refer the matter to the Department of Justice for a decision on whether to press criminal charges.

Contempt of Congress bears a penalty of up to a year's imprisonment and a fine up to $100,000.

The House backed contempt of Congress charges last year for Steve Bannon, a Trump adviser. He was charged in a case set to go to trial in July. The House also voted in favor of a contempt charge for Mark Meadows, a former House member who became Trump's chief of staff, but there has been no word from Justice on whether charges will be filed.

The Democrat-led select committee has been investigating events leading to the assault on the seat of the U.S. government by thousands of protesters as Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers gathered to certify Joe Biden's victory in the November 2020 election.

Protesters rampaged through the Capitol, injuring police officers and sending Pence, lawmakers, staff and journalists scurrying for safety, after Trump repeated his false claims at a raucous rally that his defeat was the result of fraud.

One protester was fatally shot by Capitol Police during the attack. Three others died of other causes on that day. Brian Sicknick, a Capitol police officer on duty during the attack, died of natural causes the following day.