(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Peter Navarro’s lawyers do not lack for chutzpah.
Moxie. Grit. Balls. They’ve got ’em.
As for judgment, well …
Check out this minute order fired off this morning by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly:
As for Defendant’s allegation that the Court engaged in an ex parte communication, ECF No. 36-2 at 2, the Courtroom Deputy mailed a copy of the sealed order, ECF No. 34, to defense counsel on December 20, 2023. It is the practice of this Court to provide sealed documents, including court orders, via mail to the counsel of record, thereby not engaging in ex parte communications.
Did MAGAworld legal eagles Stan Woodward and Stan Brand get so busy representing every weirdo in Trumpland that they forget to pick up their mail over Christmas and then go and accuse her Honor of something untoward?
Judge Kollar-Kotelly presided over the replevin action seeking to force Trump’s former econ kook to give back government emails he was hiding in his encrypted ProtonMail account. On March 9, 2023, she ordered Navarro to hand them over, and two weeks later she refused his request for a stay pending appeal. In a series of status reports, the government complained that Navarro and his counsel were refusing to fully comply with the order, and by August, the court was threatening that something very bad would happen if Navarro didn’t get right with Uncle Sam.
In sum, to the extent that Plaintiff requests in its [30] Motion to Enforce a declaration by Defendant further explaining his compliance with the Court’s judgment in this case, that [30] Motion to Enforce is GRANTED. To the extent that Plaintiff requests an order directing Defendant to show cause why he should not be held in contempt of the Court’s judgment, the [30] Motion to Enforce is HELD IN ABEYANCE, pending the Court’s review of upcoming submissions.
The docket shows a series of sealed filings in December which make it look as if Navarro did finally cough it up. But in the meantime, he managed to get himself convicted in September of contempt of Congress for blowing off the January 6 Select Committee in 2021.
After Navarro and his lawyers failed to get a mistrial, they’re now trying to explain to Judge Amit Mehta why Navarro deserves probation, instead of the six months recommended by the government. Arguing for a downward departure because your client accepted responsibility, while simultaneously claiming that the prosecutors were biased and your guy did nothing wrong is A CHOICE.
The improper motive with which Dr. Navarro’s prosecution was pursued further compels a stay pending appeal of the novel legal issues presented by Dr. Navarro’s prosecution so that the Circuit can resolve (or affirm) these questions without political zealousness with which Dr. Navarro’s conviction was attained.
Also A CHOICE is pointing to what happened in Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s courtroom as evidence of that Pete Navarro is a brave and honest little boy scout. And yet this morning’s minute order was in response to a request to unseal those sealed docket entries in the replevin action. Then Navarro can trot down the hall and show them to Judge Mehta to prove what a good boy he is, so don’t send him to jail, please. Sure, it took him eight months and a threat of contempt before he gave back that government property, but that’s probably because the DOJ is biased.
Let your freak flag fly!
US v. Navarro [Civil Docket via Court Listener]
US v. Navarro [Criminal Docket via Court Listener]
Liz Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes the Law and Chaos substack and appears on the Opening Arguments podcast.