On Thursday, July 16, 2026, President Donald Trump accused the People’s Republic of China of conspiring to undermine his presidency. Appearing before the nation from the White House, Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HmhOFfJr5ro">shared</a> intelligence indicating that Beijing “engaged in…election-related activities to undermine my first administration and our 2020 campaign.” According to the president, Beijing “fought like hell” to head off a second term and “make him resign or prevent his reelection.”
The next day, administration officials <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/peter-navarro-speaks-to-white-house-reporters-about-election-security/682908">said</a>, inexplicably, that Trump’s speech about Beijing’s election influence was “not a story about China.” Instead, Peter Navarro claimed, the true villains were domestic “nefarious actors” who wanted to swing the election away from Trump. Later on that day, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://x.com/katiadoyl/status/2078171530257686641?s=61">confirmed</a> that Chairman Xi Jinping’s upcoming trip to the White House remained on track. Apparently the punishment for meddling in American democracy is pageantry and hospitality.
Friday evening, Reuters reported new <a href="https://www.justice.gov/olc/media/1453136/dl">guidance</a> from the Department of Justice: TikTok was now safe to download on government devices. No matter that the CCP still appears to control the app’s all-important <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-lawmaker-says-licensing-deal-tiktok-algorithm-would-raise-serious-concerns-2025-10-16/">algorithm</a>, or that Beijing <a href="https://www.hudson.org/technology/stop-giving-beijing-advantage-through-tiktok-michael-sobolik">leveraged</a> that control last year to turn the American people against Trump’s trade war with China. Or, most alarmingly, that a National Intelligence Council <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/NICM-Declassified-Cyber-Operations-Enabling-Expansive-Digital-Authoritarianism-20200407--2022.pdf">assessment</a> from 2020 identified TikTok as a primary vector of CCP election interference in the United States. With its hand on the app’s algorithm, the CCP can still manipulate TikTok’s content and shape U.S. public opinion.
If President Trump wants to prevent China, Russia, or any foreign adversaries from meddling in U.S. elections, he needs to address these contradictions immediately. As it stands now, his administration is unwittingly doing Beijing’s work for it.
Consider this warning from an NIC <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/NICM-Declassified-Cyber-Operations-Enabling-Expansive-Digital-Authoritarianism-20200407--2022.pdf">assessment</a> on April 7, 2020. China uses a variety of means, including TikTok, “to extend the coercive reach of their ideological enforcement and political control efforts beyond their borders. In some cases, they are impinging on Western democracies’ sovereignty and interests to enhance their domestic stability.” Beijing targets American democracy because its autocracy is weak. The CCP, like most authoritarian regimes, is parasitic. It has no internal source of legitimacy, and can only survive on the strength of others. Xi sought to destabilize Trump not primarily to weaken an American president, but chiefly to make himself strong.
It was bad enough that Navarro misidentified the antagonist in this whole episode. This story is clearly about China. But understanding the CCP’s motive is even more important: it’s less about preferring Trump or Biden, and more about sowing doubt in U.S. elections. Missing that theme will invite further meddling.
These assessments, and China’s own actions, give Trump considerable leverage. Xi clearly has his own political challenges at home, based on the persistent high-profile <a href="https://thedispatch.com/article/xi-jinping-china-military-purge/">purges</a> at the party’s highest levels. As much as Trump wants high-level meetings with Xi for trade negotiations, Xi may need these meetings even more for his own domestic standing. By inviting Xi to Washington in September and letting China off without any punishment or deterrent action, Trump will telegraph considerable weakness.
There is one thing that Trump could do immediately to alleviate these concerns, buttress U.S. election integrity, and regain the upper hand against Xi: revisit his TikTok negotiation. The app is the CCP’s most potent weapon of psychological warfare against Americans, and a powerful tool to turn us against each other. Congress moved as quickly as it did in 2024 to separate TikTok from its Chinese parent company ByteDance because of compelling evidence that the app was directly responsible for spikes in antisemitism, just months after Hamas’ barbaric attacks against Israel on October 7th. The powerful algorithm behind that operation still rests under CCP control.
It isn’t weakness to revisit a bad decision. Letting it stand, and leaving Americans vulnerable to threats, is weakness. Should the day come when China leverages TikTok in elections, we will look back on this moment as a lost opportunity. Thankfully, the president has time to fix this problem. He has accused Xi of trying to ruin his presidency. Will he turn around and receive Xi at the White House in September? Will he allow the CCP to retain control of TikTok’s algorithm? More than Trump’s legacy rides on the answer to these questions. The resiliency of America’s democracy depends on them.
***
Michael Sobolik is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Trump Truth Social Post About TikTok Shown On Smartphone With Chinese And U.S. Flags In Background

TikTok Is The CCP’s Most Potent Weapon Of Psychological Warfare. Will Trump Stop It?

ByteDance

Communist China

DW Opinion

election integrity

Peter Navarro

TikTok

Trump Administration

Two top Trump allies are trading barbs over the administration’s approach to international trade.
Tech mogul Elon Musk and Peter Navarro, the president’s senior counselor on trade, have openly feuded with each other over the future of U.S. trade policy. Musk has pushed for low tariffs to encourage international trade, whereas Navarro has argued that high trade barriers are needed to protect domestic industry.
The disagreement grew personal, with Navarro saying Musk is influenced by business interests and Musk calling the trade counselor a “moron.”
“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk posted on X on Tuesday morning in response to Navarro’s contention that Musk’s trade policies are influenced by Tesla’s business needs, Musk’s electric car company.
“Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks,” Musk posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks. <a href="https://twitter.com/IfindRetards?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IfindRetards</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RealPNavarro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealPNavarro</a> <a href="https://t.co/gECgtZt5Sc">https://t.co/gECgtZt5Sc</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1909605316121198860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Musk’s harsh posts came in response to comments Navarro made Monday.
“When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House – and the American people understand – that Elon&#8217;s a car manufacturer. But he&#8217;s not a car manufacturer, he&#8217;s a car assembler in many cases,” Navarro said. “If you go to his Texas plant, a good part of the engines that he gets, which in the EV case [are] the batteries, come from Japan and come from China. The electronics come from Taiwan.”
“What we want — and the difference is in our thinking and Elon&#8217;s on this — is that we want the tires made in Akron. We want the transmissions made in Indianapolis. We want the engines made in Flint and Saginaw. And we want the cars manufactured here,” the trade counselor continued. “With Elon, it’s fine, he’s a car person, that’s what he does. And he wants the cheap foreign parts, and we understand that.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
PETER NAVARRO ON ELON MUSK:
“We all understand in the White House (and the American people understand) that Elon&#39;s a car manufacturer. But he&#39;s not a car manufacturer — He&#39;s a car assembler. 
In many cases, if you go to his Texas plant, a good part of the engines that he gets… <a href="https://t.co/mkp1wRGcvX">pic.twitter.com/mkp1wRGcvX</a>
&mdash; Ron Pragides  (@mrp) <a href="https://twitter.com/mrp/status/1909414607741243710?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk on Monday shared a video of the free-market economist Milton Friedman explaining how international trade has led to more affordable products – in Friedman’s example, a pencil.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/azqwPMa0om">pic.twitter.com/azqwPMa0om</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1909169096391811304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The feud started after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against dozens of countries last week, including close American allies and nations with relatively low tariff barriers against the United States, such as Israel and South Korea. The announcement presaged days of chaos in stock trading, but markets began to steady after the White House signaled it was willing to negotiate with countries to lower or avoid the tariffs announced last week.

Elon Musk, Peter Navarro

‘Truly A Moron’: Top Trump Allies Elon Musk, Peter Navarro Trade Shots On Tariffs

Donald Trump

Economy

Elon Musk

Politics

Tariffs

White House

Peter Navarro, who is the White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, defended President Donald Trump&#8217;s plans for implementing tariffs on imports ahead of what is anticipated to be a major escalation in the trade war next week.
Trump, who has already issued some tariffs during his second term, has declared that April 2 will be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-slaps-tariff-on-all-countries-that-buy-oil-from-venezuela" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Liberation Day&#8221;</a> featuring a wave of new reciprocal tariffs followed by a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-touts-businesses-coming-back-with-new-plan-for-25-tariffs-on-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">25% tariff</a> on automotive imports to the United States on April 3.
Polls have shown that Americans fear the tariffs on imports will hurt the U.S. economy and jobs, but during an interview on &#8220;Fox News Sunday,&#8221; Navarro urged people to &#8220;trust in Trump&#8221; as he harkened back to the &#8220;example&#8221; set during the president&#8217;s first term.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/RealPNavarro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealPNavarro</a>: &quot;We have the example from the first term. We know that we imposed historically high tariffs&#8230; and all we got out of that was prosperity and price stability&#8230; the Germans, the Japanese, the South Koreans and the Mexicans have taken our manufacturing capability.… <a href="https://t.co/1nII1TVKHF">pic.twitter.com/1nII1TVKHF</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1906342561553301753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We know that we imposed historically high tariffs on China. We imposed aluminum and steel tariffs. We imposed on washing machines, on solar, and all we got out of that, Shannon — all we got out of that was prosperity and price stability,&#8221; Navarro told anchor Shannon Bream.
&#8220;And the reason why we&#8217;re not going to see inflation is because the foreigners are going to eat most of it. They have to; we&#8217;re the biggest market in the world, Shannon,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And they have to be here. They have to be here. And so they&#8217;re going to cut their prices to absorb that.&#8221;
Navarro said the &#8220;bigger picture here is restoring the American manufacturing base,&#8221; adding, &#8220;We don&#8217;t have that. We&#8217;re an assembly thing.&#8221;
Looking back to the 1940s, Navarro said there was &#8220;something called the &#8216;arsenal of democracy&#8217; back in World War II. That was how we beat the Japanese and the Germans with our military might.&#8221;
&#8220;When General George S. Patton &#8220;went to Berlin, it was with trucks, Jeeps, and tanks that were made in the auto plants of the Midwest,&#8221; Navarro continued. &#8220;Right now, the only thing that looks like the Midwest back then is Mexico. You go across the diaspora of cities in Mexico, there&#8217;s football-field-sized — 50 football field-sized assembly plants that are down there making the engines for here. We can&#8217;t do that.&#8221;

Tariff Escalation Won’t Cause Inflation; Foreigners Will ‘Eat Most Of It’: Trump Trade Counselor

Inflation

U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday morning that he has selected Peter Navarro to serve as his Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing.
&#8220;During my First Term, few were more effective or tenacious than Peter in enforcing my two sacred rules, Buy American, Hire American,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113595333429088742">posted</a> on social media. &#8220;He helped me renegotiate unfair Trade Deals like NAFTA and the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), and moved every one of my Tariff and Trade actions FAST.&#8221;
Trump said Navarro&#8217;s skill set is a perfect match for the position, which will harness his policy knowledge, analytic skills, and media prowess.
&#8220;Peter is not just a superb, Harvard-trained Economist, he is a noted author of more than a dozen bestselling books on strategic business management and unfair Trade,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;He did a superb job for the American People in my First Term. Peter will do even better as Senior Counselor to protect American Workers, and truly Make American Manufacturing Great Again.&#8221;
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Trump said that the 75-year-old had been &#8220;treated horribly by the Deep State&#8221; over the last few years, a reference to Navarro being incarcerated for four months because he refused to cooperate with the Democrat-led House Select Committee investigating the January 6 riot.
After Navarro was released five months ago, he gave a fiery speech at the Republican National Convention after receiving nearly a minute-long standing ovation.
“The January 6 committee demanded that I betray Donald John Trump to save my own skin,” Navarro said. “I refused.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Peter Navarro addresses the RNC: &#039;I went to prison so you don&#039;t have to&#039;" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mS4NFytUPZI?start=15&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

2024 Republican National Convention: Day 3

Trump Taps China Hawk Peter Navarro As Senior Counselor For Trade, Manufacturing

MAGA

Former Trump White House chief strategist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/steve-bannon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Bannon</a> was released from federal prison in Connecticut on Tuesday morning after four months behind bars for his conviction on contempt of Congress charges.
Bannon, 70, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-trump-aide-steve-bannon-begins-federal-prison-sentence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imprisoned</a> on July 1 after he was convicted for not complying with a subpoena from the Democrat-run January 6 Committee in 2022. The committee had instructed Bannon to testify and produce certain documents, which he declined to do, citing executive privilege. After an attempt to stay the sentence pending appeal and denial to review the case by the Supreme Court, Bannon reported to federal prison. 
“If you’re not prepared to go to prison to fight for your country,” Bannon <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/29/us/steve-bannon-prison-release.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the New York Times on Tuesday. “You’re not prepared to fight for your country.”
The former Trump aide is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/steve-bannon-prison-release-56f2f7a17ae2273a29a0829234f56fae">expected</a> to speak at a news conference in Manhattan later on Tuesday. Before he went into the prison, Bannon said that the Justice Department was targeting him for his political views. 
“I am proud to go to prison,” he <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/07/01/us-news/trump-ally-steve-bannon-says-hes-proud-to-go-to-prison-as-he-surrenders-for-contempt-of-congress-conviction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “If this is what it takes to stand up to tyranny; if this is what it takes to stand up to the [Attorney General Merrick] Garland corrupt criminal DOJ; if this is what it takes to stand up to Nancy Pelosi; if this is what it takes to stand up to Joe Biden — I’m proud to do it.”
Former President Donald Trump decried the prosecution at the time, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112571273082033339" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posting</a> on Truth Social that Bannon’s imprisonment was a “Total and Complete American Tragedy.” 
“The unAmerican Weaponization of our Law Enforcement has reached levels of Illegality never thought possible before,” he posted on Truth Social. 
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
Bannon is not the only former Trump ally who has spent time behind bars. Peter Navarro, the director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy under Trump, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-ally-peter-navarro-freed-from-prison-to-speak-at-rnc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">served</a> four months in prison earlier this year after being convicted on contempt of Congress charges. 
Navarro, 75, was convicted and sentenced after he did not show up for a deposition with the January 6 Committee and did not provide it with certain documents, also citing the doctrine of executive privilege.
“I’m afraid for this country because this, what they’re doing, should have a chilling effect on every American regardless of their party,” Navarro said before turning himself in to federal authorities in March. “They come for me, they can come for you.”
Navarro completed his sentence on July 17. Just hours after his release, Navarro traveled to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to speak. 
“The J6 committee demanded that I betray Donald John Trump to save my own skin,” Navarro <a href="https://apnews.com/article/peter-navarro-prison-republican-national-committee-2b443fdbf14164fed4650332aaf6d0c9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during his convention speech. “I refused.”

Steve Bannon Reports To Federal Prison In Connecticut To Begin Four Month Sentence

Former Trump Aide Steve Bannon Released From Prison

Connecticut

Crime

January 6 Committee

Steve Bannon

Former Trump White House aide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/peter-navarro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Navarro</a> walked on the stage at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday &#8212; hours after being released from federal prison &#8212; to thunderous applause and chants of &#8220;fight.&#8221;
Navarro, 75, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-trump-aide-peter-navarro-decries-partisan-weaponization-of-justice-as-he-begins-prison-sentence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imprisoned</a> for four months after being convicted of contempt of Congress charges. He was sentenced after he did not show up for a deposition with the Democrat-run January 6 committee and did not provide them with certain documents, citing the doctrine of executive privilege.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING: RNC erupts in thunderous cheers for Peter Navarro the brave patriot who left federal prison this morning. Navarro spent four months in the gulag for refusing to comply with the unconstitutional January 6th committee <a href="https://t.co/opjcV7sxq5">pic.twitter.com/opjcV7sxq5</a>
— George (@BehizyTweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/1813719778114367548?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
Speaking to the crowd, Navarro broke down how the Democrats worked to imprison him. 
&#8220;Here&#8217;s how I got in prison: the legislative branch came for me first,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Your favorite Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, created your favorite committee, the sham January 6 committee, which demanded that I violate executive privilege.&#8221;
&#8220;What did I do? I refused,&#8221; he said to more applause. &#8220;The J6 committee demanded that I betray Donald John Trump to save my own skin. I refused.&#8221;
&#8220;A Democrat majority in the House then voted to hold me in contempt,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The next jackboot to drop was the executive branch. Another one of your favorite Democrats, Democrat Attorney General Merrick Garland &#8212; there&#8217;s a winner. Him and Jack Smith indicted and prosecuted me for criminal contempt of Congress.&#8221;
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&#8220;Now here&#8217;s what&#8217;s weird about it, it&#8217;s something that Democrat prosecutors refuse to do against one of their own,&#8221; Navarro said, citing Obama-era attorney general Eric Holder and current Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
Navarro told the crowd that the government targeted him and threw him in jail, but warned that it could happen to anyone on the Right. &#8220;I went to jail so you don&#8217;t have to,&#8221; he said numerous times during his speech.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING: Peter Navarro explains how the January 6th committee tried to get him to betray Trump in the back but he REFUSED
&#8220;The January 6th committee demanded that I betray Donald J. Trump to save my own skin, I REFUSED&#8221;
God Bless Peter Navarro and Free Steve Bannon <a href="https://t.co/1ZCMRAeE9T">pic.twitter.com/1ZCMRAeE9T</a>
— George (@BehizyTweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/1813721089509675307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mom-who-lost-son-to-fentanyl-brings-tears-to-rnc-standing-ovations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mom Who Lost Son To Fentanyl Brings Tears To RNC, Standing Ovations</a>

Cheers Erupt For Peter Navarro At RNC: ‘I Went To Prison So You Don’t Have To’

Cheers Erupt At RNC For Peter Navarro, Released From Federal Prison

Elections

Republican National Convention

Former Trump White House aide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/peter-navarro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Navarro</a> was released from federal prison in Florida on Wednesday morning and is preparing to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
Navarro, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-trump-aide-peter-navarro-decries-partisan-weaponization-of-justice-as-he-begins-prison-sentence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imprisoned</a> for four months after being convicted of contempt of Congress charges, has been a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump. The 75-year-old was sentenced after he did not show up for a deposition with the Democrat-run January 6 committee and did not provide them with certain documents, citing the doctrine of executive privilege. 
Navarro, who was the director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy under Trump, has maintained he did nothing wrong, saying he was targeted because of his political views and connections to Trump. 
“I’m afraid for this country because this, what they’re doing, should have a chilling effect on every American regardless of their party,” he said before turning himself in to federal authorities in March. “They come for me, they can come for you.”
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected an effort by Navarro to avoid prison time while he appealed his case. 
Navarro will <a href="https://apnews.com/article/peter-navarro-prison-republican-national-committee-2b443fdbf14164fed4650332aaf6d0c9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> speak around 6:00 p.m. CST Wednesday as the RNC enters its third day. 
“The best is yet to come!” Navarro&#8217;s X account <a href="https://x.com/RealPNavarro/status/1813549873591140538" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on Wednesday. 
Another former Trump White House aide, Steve Bannon, is currently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-trump-aide-steve-bannon-begins-federal-prison-sentence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">serving</a> a four-month prison term over his conviction on similar charges. 
Bannon was also convicted for not complying with a subpoena from the January 6 committee in 2022 instructing him to testify and produce certain documents for the committee. After a lengthy appeals process, a federal judge <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-orders-bannon-to-report-to-prison">ordered</a> Bannon to report to prison on July 1. 
On the campaign trail, Trump has sharply criticized the Biden administration, saying that it has weaponized the Justice Department against him and his supporters. After a judge dismissed Jack Smith’s case against him over his handling of classified documents, the former president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-responds-to-documents-case-being-dismissed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> all legal cases against him should be dropped.
“The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME,” he added. “Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!”

Ex-Trump Aide Peter Navarro Reports To Prison In Florida For Contempt Of Congress Conviction

Trump Ally Peter Navarro Freed From Prison, To Speak At RNC

Department of Justice

Florida

Joe Biden

Milwaukee

A group of more than two dozen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Republicans</a> unveiled this week a resolution that aims to rescind <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/january-6-committee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">January 6 Committee</a> subpoenas against several associates of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>.
The measure also seeks to withdraw recommendations that these individuals be held in contempt of Congress and require the House speaker to notify the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the actions.
At focus are four ex-White House officials who refused to cooperate with subpoenas: Stephen Bannon, Peter Navarro, Dan Scavino, and Mark Meadows.
The DOJ <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/03/politics/justice-department-declines-charge-meadows-scavino-january-6/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declined</a> to prosecute Scavino and Meadows, but did open up cases and secure convictions against the others.
Former White House trade adviser Navarro is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/us/politics/peter-navarro-jail-contempt-congress.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">serving</a> a four-month prison sentence. Bannon, Trump&#8217;s former chief strategist who left the White House in 2017, is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-orders-bannon-to-report-to-prison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slated to report</a> to prison on July 1.
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) <a href="https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-burlison-introduces-resolution-rescind-subpoenas-stephen-k-bannon-mark" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the resolution on Tuesday, noting that it had 24 co-sponsors, including Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Chip Roy (R-TX).
&#8220;The subpoenas that were issued were legally insufficient and should be rescinded, and the contempt of Congress referrals based on those subpoenas should be withdrawn,&#8221; Burlison said in a statement.
Democrats led the House when the now-defunct January 6 Committee ran its investigation. Two Republicans, now-former Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), served on the panel.
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Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who served as chairman of the January 6 Committee, pushed back against the bid to revoke the subpoenas and withdraw the contempt of Congress recommendations.
&#8220;Thankfully, this resolution will have no impact,&#8221; <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jan-6-subpoenas-against-trump-aides-would-revoked-under-new-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he told Fox News</a>, adding that the subpoenas &#8220;were litigated exhaustively, with contempt of Congress charges going as high as the Supreme Court.&#8221;
It remains to be seen whether the resolution will even be considered by the GOP-led House, but its co-sponsors would like to see a vote.
&#8220;The Republican House should, by an official vote of the House, declare the subpoenas on Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro to be illegitimate and repealed,” Massie said.
He added, &#8220;If Congress does so, it will be an effective and needed repudiation of the sham January 6th committee.&#8221;

House GOP Measure Seeks To Revoke January 6 Subpoenas Against Trump Associates

Congress

House Republicans

January 6

subpoena

Thomas Massie

U.S. House of Representatives

Former Trump White House aide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/peter-navarro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Navarro</a> reported to prison in Florida on Tuesday to begin the four-month-long sentence after he did not show up for a deposition with the January 6 Committee in February 2022.
Before reporting to federal prison in Miami, Navarro, 74, blasted the “partisan weaponization” of the justice system, saying that he had been treated unfairly and targeted for his connections to former President Donald Trump. Navarro has argued that he did nothing wrong and was legally shielded from speaking to the now-disbanded January 6 Committee under the doctrine of executive privilege.
“I’m pissed. That’s what I’m feeling right now,” Navarro <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/19/peter-navarro-prison-miami-00147790" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> before heading off to prison, according to POLITICO. “But I’m also afraid of only one thing: I’m afraid for this country because this, what they’re doing, should have a chilling effect on every American regardless of their party. They come for me, they can come for you.”
“When I walk in that prison today, the justice system — such as it is — will have done a crippling blow to the constitutional separation of powers and executive privilege,” Navarro <a href="https://apnews.com/article/peter-navarro-jan-6-prison-congress-contempt-ea6f0e60dda1a7bcaef31012cd2c7678" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
Navarro had hoped to avoid prison time while his case went through the appeals process, but his efforts were rejected by the courts, including an appeal to the Supreme Court that was shot down by Chief Justice John Roberts. 
Navarro has maintained that he did nothing wrong and was not obligated to meet with lawmakers on the January 6 Committee, which was disbanded after Republicans took control of the House in January 2023. The Department of Justice charged Navarro after Congress voted to hold him in contempt after they subpoenaed him to meet with House lawmakers and produce certain documents that they had requested. 
After his conviction in September 2023, he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-advisor-will-spend-4-months-in-prison-for-doing-exactly-what-hunter-biden-did">sentenced</a> by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta and ordered to pay a fine of $9,500 in January. Mehta told the former Trump economic advisor that he was not the “object of a political prosecution” and that “these are circumstances of your own making.”
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“In all of this, even today, there is little acknowledgement of what your obligation is as an American to cooperate with Congress, to provide them with information they are seeking,” Mehta said. “They had a job to do. And you made it harder. It’s really that simple.”
Trump <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-appearing-melania-slams-ny-fraud-case-peter/story?id=108273396" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denounced</a> the prosecution and sentencing of Navarro on Tuesday, saying that it was &#8220;a disgrace&#8221; that he was going to prison. The former president added that Navarro was &#8220;a great patriot&#8221; who had been treated &#8220;very unfairly.&#8221;

Former Trump Aide Peter Navarro Decries ‘Partisan Weaponization’ Of Justice As He Begins Prison Sentence

Miami

Former Trump White House aide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/peter-navarro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Navarro</a> on Monday was ordered to report to federal prison next week for the four-month-long sentence he was given after he did not show up for a deposition with the January 6 Committee in February 2022.
District Judge Amit Mehta told Navarro, who was convicted last year by a D.C. jury on two counts of contempt of Congress, to report to a prison in Miami on March 19. Navarro had hoped to avoid prison time while his case went through the appeals process. 
The 74-year-old former Trump economic advisor was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-advisor-will-spend-4-months-in-prison-for-doing-exactly-what-hunter-biden-did" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> and ordered to pay a fine of $9,500  in January after his conviction in September 2023. Navarro has maintained that he did nothing wrong and was not obligated to meet with lawmakers on the January 6 Committee, which was disbanded after Republicans took control of the House in January 2023. 
“Dr. Navarro has now been ordered to report to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, FCI Miami, on or before 2:00PM EDT on March 19, 2024,” Navarro’s lawyer <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/11/peter-navarro-prison-march-19-00146225" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a filing on Sunday. “Accordingly, Dr. Navarro respectfully reiterates his request for an administrative stay … Should this Court deny Dr. Navarro’s motion, he respectfully requests an administrative stay so as to permit the Supreme Court review of this Court’s denial.”
Throughout the process, Navarro has maintained that executive privilege should shield him from being forced to meet with the January 6 Committee. His arguments have so far been rejected, with Mehta not allowing him to use executive privilege as his defense during trial. 
“For the first time in history, a senior presidential advisor has been convicted of contempt of Congress after asserting executive privilege over a congressional subpoena,” Navarro&#8217;s lawyer <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/peter-navarro-ordered-to-report-to-miami-prison-on-march-19-post-5605026?ea_src=frontpage&amp;ea_med=lead-special-courts-medium-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “Dr. Navarro has appealed and will raise a number of issues on appeal that he contends are likely to result in the reversal of his conviction, or a new trial.”
The Department of Justice charged Navarro after Congress voted to hold him in contempt after they subpoenaed him to meet with House lawmakers and produce certain documents that they had requested. 
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The House also previously voted, mostly along party lines, to recommend other Trump aides &#8211; including Steve Bannon, Dan Scavino, and Mark Meadows – to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress charges. Bannon, who was also convicted of contempt of Congress charges, was sentenced to four months in prison but has yet to serve any time as his case goes through the appeals process.
After he was indicted, Navarro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trying-to-intimidate-me-peter-navarro-rips-january-6-committee-doj-after-indictment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the January 6 Committee was trying to intimidate him.
“Congress has weaponized the investigatory powers of congress in a way which is unconstitutional,” Navarro said in June 2022 after a court hearing on the indictment. “The people of America need to understand, Congress has the right to investigate, but only for non-punitive, legislative purposes. What that committee is doing is investigating for punitive purposes.”
“They intercepted me getting on the plane and they put me in handcuffs, they bring me here, they put me in leg irons, they stick me in a cell,” he said. “They just came with the full force of the federal government and put the hammer down trying to intimidate me.”

Peter Navarro Indicted For Contempt Of Congress

Former Trump White House Aide Peter Navarro Ordered To Report To Federal Prison

Courts

A key advisor to former President Donald Trump was sentenced Thursday to serve four months in prison for doing exactly what President Joe Biden&#8217;s son Hunter did just a few weeks ago.
Peter Navarro, who advised Trump on matters of trade and manufacturing, was subpoenaed to appear before the January 6th Committee for a deposition in March of 2022 and was ordered to provide documents to the committee one month prior — neither of which he did.
The Justice Department charged Navarro as a private citizen several months later, on June 2, 2022.
In addition to his <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-white-house-official-peter-navarro-learns-sentenced-months-defying-jan-6-subpoena" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four-month sentence</a>, Navarro was ordered to pay a fine of $9,500 — reduced by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta from the six months and $200,000 the Justice Department had requested. As the DOJ noted in the request, every individual count of contempt of Congress can carry 30 days to one year in jail, and a fine of up to $100,000.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Peter Navarro saved lives by urging. Trump to close the border to China in the first days of COVID. Now a DC court is jailing him for what Hunter Biden did &#8211; contempt of Congress. But Navarro felt he was bound by privilege not to comply with a J6 subpoena <a href="https://t.co/sNEtHsRjqb">https://t.co/sNEtHsRjqb</a>
&mdash; Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) <a href="https://twitter.com/mirandadevine/status/1750575935923855777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A similar situation — absent the Justice Department taking action — has played out with President Biden&#8217;s embattled son in recent weeks.
Hunter Biden <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-congress-investigation-impeachment-0226bb1041d7b5c10bc8c33e5d98b5e0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defied a subpoena</a> to appear before the House Oversight Committee for a closed-door deposition. Instead, the younger Biden claimed repeatedly that he would testify publicly and even staged a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hunter-biden-shows-up-to-capitol-defies-subpoena-for-house-deposition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press conference</a> on the opposite side of the Capitol from where he had been ordered to appear.
Kimberly Guilfoyle summed up the comparison in a post on X, saying, &#8220;What an absolute disgrace. Peter Navarro sentenced to prison for refusing to play along with the Democrats’ illegitimate sham J6 circus While Hunter Biden defies a subpoena, mocks the entire process, and gets to stroll through Capitol Hill. Justice is dead.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
What an absolute disgrace. 
Peter Navarro sentenced to prison for refusing to play along with the Democrats’ illegitimate sham J6 circus 
While Hunter Biden defies a subpoena, mocks the entire process, and gets to stroll through Capitol Hill 
Justice is dead. <a href="https://t.co/SFaVnf0D9e">https://t.co/SFaVnf0D9e</a>
&mdash; Kimberly Guilfoyle (@kimguilfoyle) <a href="https://twitter.com/kimguilfoyle/status/1750579425547047355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Hunter Biden sentenced to 4 months for defying subpoena? &#8230; Oh wait, that&#8217;s Peter Navarro&#8216;s sentence,&#8221; another added.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hunter Biden sentenced to 4 months for defying subpoena? &#8230; 
Oh wait, that&#39;s Peter Navarro&#39;s sentence
&mdash; Wendell Husebø (@WendellHusebo) <a href="https://twitter.com/WendellHusebo/status/1750576733034553474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Republicans moved to hold Hunter Biden in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hunter-biden-makes-surprise-appearance-while-lawmakers-meet-on-holding-him-in-contempt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contempt of Congress</a>, but he crashed the hearing, once again declaring that he would only volunteer to testify in public. The president&#8217;s son has since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-congress-contempt-subpoena-058b67e9d69bd12d14b8e395c2aadaf0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly agreed</a> to sit for a private deposition at the end of February.

Hunter Biden

Trump Advisor Will Spend 4 Months In Prison For Doing Exactly What Hunter Biden Did

Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro made a defiant statement outside a Washington, D.C., courthouse on Friday after he was arrested by the FBI for contempt of Congress.
A grand jury <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-former-trump-adviser-peter-navarro-indicted-for-refusing-to-cooperate-with-january-6-committee">indicted</a> Navarro on Friday on two charges of contempt of Congress for allegedly failing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 last year. Navarro said FBI agents arrested him as he was boarding a plane to Nashville.
“Congress has weaponized the investigatory powers of congress in a way which is unconstitutional,” Navarro <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBLYunKH1-I">said</a> Friday after a court hearing on the indictment. “The people of America need to understand, Congress has the right to investigate, but only for non-punitive, legislative purposes. What that committee is doing is investigating for punitive purposes.”
Navarro repeatedly criticized his treatment by the January 6 committee, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department, and the FBI. Navarro said that the FBI had disregarded his attempts and offer to cooperate with agents on legal issues stemming from the committee’s subpoena. Instead, the agents intercepted him as he was boarding a plane to Nashville to appear on former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s television show.
“Today the punishment which was inflicted upon a man presumed innocent and innocent until proven guilty demonstrates the utter disregard for the Constitution and the law that the Department of Justice has,” Navarro said.
“They intercepted me getting on the plane and they put me in handcuffs, they bring me here, they put me in leg irons, they stick me in a cell,” he said. “They just came with the full force of the federal government and put the hammer down trying to intimidate me.”
Navarro is apparently representing himself in the court over his indictment. “Part of the Democrats strategy is to engage in what is called &#8216;lawfare,&#8217; which is they use the legal system for effectively coercion and illicit ends. I do not want to spend several hundred thousand dollars on lawyers.”
Each count of contempt of Congress carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The committee subpoenaed Navarro in February for documents and a deposition based on the committee’s belief that he possessed “information relevant to the committee’s investigation,” the subpoena <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/file/1510231/download">said</a>, according to the indictment.
Navarro is the second top Trump White House official to face an indictment related to the House committee’s investigation into January 6. The committee indicted former Trump aid Steve Bannon in November on similar charges.

‘Trying To Intimidate Me’: Peter Navarro Rips January 6 Committee, DOJ After Indictment

Peter Navarro Rips January 6 Committee, DOJ After Indictment

Washington D.C.

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