Peter Navarro, Ex-Trump Adviser, Rejects Subpoena Summons In Coronavirus Probe

peter navarro
peter navarro

Peter Navarro, who was once the trade adviser in the White House of Donald Trump, will not be complying with a subpoena regarding certain documents. The documents are pertaining to the response of the administration of Donald Trump to the covid pandemic. Navarro said that Trump had explicitly ordered him to not respond.

Peter Navarro Is The Latest Trump Official To Reject A Subpoena

The Select Subcommittee of the House regarding the covid crisis issued the subpoena against Peter Navarro in November. The summons comes as it continues to probe how the officials of the Trump administration handled the pandemic’s federal response. Allegedly, they had interfered with the work of their own federal agency. The pandemic has claimed the lives of almost 800,000 US citizens.

Peter Navarro, a Republican, had also been one of the advisers regarding how to respond to the pandemic during Trump’s tenure as President. He was particularly given the responsibility to procure the material needed to respond to the pandemic. Navarro wrote a letter addressed to the House subcommittee saying his refusal is because Trump ordered him to uphold executive privilege.

James Clyburn, the panel’s chairman, and Democratic Representative said that Peter Navarro did not have any valid grounds for his refusal. Navarro had also waived all his privileges the moment he spoke about what he discussed with Trump regarding the response to the coronavirus.

Navarro is yet to respond to the letter from Clyburn. Regardless, the subcommittee has given Navarro till December 15th to present all the information and records that he holds. Navarro and Trump had allegedly forced all responsibility onto the states instead of coordinating a strategy at the national level. Their procurement approach was also deemed ineffective and haphazard.