Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro sentenced to 4 months in jail for defying congressional subpoena

a former trade official in the Trump White House, was sentenced to four months in prison on Thursday on two contempt of Congress charges stemming from his refusal to comply with a subpoena related to his actions after the 2020 election.

In 2022, Navarro defied a demand for records and testimony from the now-defunct House select committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. A federal jury in Washington, D.C., convicted Navarro after a short trial in September 2023.

Judge Amit Mehta, who imposed the sentence after a hearing in federal court in Washington, also fined Navarro $9,500. The sentence was less strict than the six months in prison and $600,000 fine that prosecutors had requested. He will not report directly to prison as his attorneys argue that he should be released as they pursue an appeal of his conviction. They quickly filed notice that they would ask an appeals court to review the case.

Navarro briefly spoke during Thursday's hearing, thanking his lawyers and the judge. 

"When I received that congressional subpoena … I had an honest belief that the [executive] privilege had been invoked," he said, defying his attorneys' advice that he not speak on his own behalf.