A judge postponed the contempt of Congress trial of former Trump adviser Peter Navarro on Thursday due to a Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy trial taking precedence over the smaller-scale Navarro case.
Navarro, who was set for trial next week, will now come before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta on Jan. 11, 2023, according to The Washington Post.
The former Trump aide was indicted this summer on two counts of ignoring a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, one of which was for testimony and the other for his documents.
Navarro filed suit against the Jan. 6 committee and the Justice Department prior to his indictment, arguing against the committee’s authorization to serve him subpoenas.
The defendant has pleaded not guilty to both counts of contempt of Congress, each punishable by at least 30 days or up to one year in prison.
Mehta will continue to oversee the seditious conspiracy trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and others, which has lasted six weeks thus far, before he takes Navarro’s case, the Post reports.
Prosecutor Raymond Hulser argued against delaying Navarro’s trial, saying that the U.S. attorney’s office wants to try the case while the Jan. 6 committee remains in existence.
The current congressional term, where the House is under Democratic control, will end on Jan. 3, and could be followed by a Republican-controlled Congress.
“I understand the U.S. attorney’s desire, but I don’t want these proceedings to be a lever in a way the U.S. attorney’s office has suggested,” said Mehta in response to Hulser’s disagreement, according to the Post.