Jan. 6 panel seeks contempt charges for Navarro and Scavino

One of Trump's longest-serving and closest aides is Scavino. He is a trusted ally of the former president. The committee has said that he was in the White House with Trump during the attack.

Stan Brand, the former House general counsel, declined to comment. The committee subpoenaed the phone records of Scavino.

The panel subpoenaed him last month, but he responded with a lengthy statement indicating he wouldn't comply. The congressional effort to contest the election on January 6 was organized by the trade adviser to the president.

The White House later said it wouldn't assert executive privilege to shield him from testifying. If the current president doesn't invoke executive privilege, it's unclear if Trump can claim it. Allies of Trump have continued to use it as a defense.

If President Trump waives the privilege, I would be happy to testify.

It is the fourth time the select committee has moved to hold witnesses in contempt, as they have also sought criminal prosecution for former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, former chief of staff MarkMeadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. It's a sign that investigators don't expect witnesses to cooperate. This attempt comes as the committee begins to wind down the investigative phase of its probe and begin holding public hearings to detail its findings.

In October, the panel voted to hold Bannon in contempt after he refused to engage with the committee. Within three weeks, the House and the Justice Department charged each other with two counts of contempt.

In December, the committee and House held Meadows in contempt, though the Justice Department has yet to signal whether or not it will pursue criminal charges in his case. The senior White House staff was led by Meadows on January 6, 2021. He briefly cooperated with the committee, but then reversed course and refused to appear for a deposition.

The full House stopped short of taking up the motion to hold Clark in contempt after he indicated he would plead the Fifth Amendment. The House hasn't taken any action on him since he appeared before the committee in February to assert his Fifth Amendment rights.

Each contempt charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail, and the trial on those charges is expected to begin in July. He believes that his decision to defy the committee was based on the advice of his lawyer. DOJ lawyers are trying to prevent him from making that argument to a jury, and the judge is going to rule on that next month. He ordered Justice Department attorneys to give more information about their decision to charge Bannon.