DOJ dismisses Biden-era records lawsuit against Peter Navarro
In a short notice, government lawyers stipulated to the dismissal of the 2022 lawsuit seeking emails Navarro sent from a personal encrypted account but refused to produce to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
They agreed to dismiss the action with prejudice, meaning the claim can't be brought again. The court filing gave no explanation for the decision.
The Presidential Records Act requires any records generated or received while working in an official capacity — including those sent or received on unofficial accounts — be turned over at the end of an administration.
A federal judge ruled against Navarro and ordered him to turn over the records. Then, a three-judge panel on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals found 'no public interest' in his retention of the records.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who oversaw the case, threatened in February 2024 to hold Navarro in contempt of court for defying her order to turn over the documents.
He appealed to the Supreme Court, but the justices in December ultimately declined to weigh his bid to reverse the order.
In Navarro's petition to the justices, he argued he initially planned to comply with NARA's request but later sought immunity to produce the documents after he was criminally charged for evading a congressional subpoena.
Navarro was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress in 2023 for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He was sentenced to four months in prison, which he completed in July.
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