A federal judge has taken action against former Trump aide Peter Navarro, ordering him to review hundreds of documents to identify and return any remaining presidential records from his time in the Trump White House. Failure to comply could result in Navarro being found in contempt of court, following his defiance of previous court orders.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the decision after Navarro provided documents last October, claiming they were personal records. Navarro had previously refused to conduct court-ordered searches after losing a bid to retain the records the previous spring.
The Justice Department sued Navarro in August 2022 over emails allegedly sent from a personal account and wrongfully retained after his government work ended.
The court’s review of the documents provided by Navarro revealed that at least 12 were presidential records, 16 were ambiguous, including journal entries, and at least 22 were personal.
Under the 1978 Presidential Records Act, covered records are those created or received by employees assisting with the President’s official duties and must be managed by the National Archives and Records Administration.
Navarro has until the end of March to review the documents and demonstrate why he should not be held in contempt of court. This latest development comes nearly two weeks after another judge ordered Navarro to report to prison.
