MSNBC’s Ari Melber grilled former Trump administration trade advisor Peter Navarro Thursday, after the latter cited executive privilege as grounds to ignore a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.
The committee is seeking to question Navarro to discuss a plan he has spoken about numerous times. If enacted, it could have stopped the certification of the 2020 election results.
The plan is something he and others have referred to as the “Green Bay Sweep.”
Former President Donald Trump has cited executive privilege regarding the House select committee’s investigation into the attack on the Capitol, which Navarro referenced when talking to Melber.
He told the host on The Beat Thursday that he would be more than happy to speak with the committee, but only if he gets clearance first from Trump.
Melber said that Navarro is citing privilege to avoid a conversation he has been having publicly all year:
The subpoena is here, from the house, we did want to get your official response on that. Given that you have told me that you have a plan, that you pushed to delay or deal with the certification, you told me 100 members back it, and you said in public, Trump was on board.
Melber asked Navarro, “If you say all those things out here, why risk a legal battle or going to jail to refuse to discuss them with the committee under oath? Navarro responded:
Because I have a loyalty to the Constitution and a loyalty to
the president. The president has invoked executive privilege in this matter. It’s not my authority to revoke that privilege. I can’t. I can’t do that. It’s not my privilege to waive. Let me say that one more time, Ari. It’s not my privilege to waive.
Melber surrendered that Navarro’s statement sounded “hypothetically reasonable.”
“You say it’s not your privilege to waive, “ he noted. “Let’s look at some of the news you have made on these topics.”
Melber then aired a series of clips of Navarro discussing the plan to stop the certification of the election.
On one clip, Navarro told Steve Bannon “that dog didn’t bark” with regard to the committee coming after him.
Melber noted:
How do you expect people to take seriously your claim this is secret and privileged when you’ve been out there talking about it, and when you and Bannon said the committee’s dog wouldn’t bark, they were afraid of you and the report? It seems now, Peter like the dog has barked.
Navarro claimed that by merely talking about the “Green Bay sweep” he had not violated Trump’s claim of executive privilege.
He concluded, “When the president has invoked executive privilege, it’s a totally different animal, and as a lawyer, if you can’t see the difference in that, I can’t
Watch above, via MSNBC.