Recommending That the House of Representatives Find Peter K. Navarro and Daniel Scavino, Jr., in Contempt of Congress
Floor Speech
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Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Speaker, I thank the vice chair for yielding time.
Madam Speaker, we have been entrusted by the American people to investigate the attempt to overturn a free and fair election. That attempt to subvert the will of the American people resulted in a deadly attack on the people in this building. But it was bigger than just 1 day of violence and destruction that resulted in the deaths of U.S. Capitol Police officers.
For weeks, various schemes were hatched by individuals, ranging from State legislators to the former President's senior aides to Members of Congress, with a singular objective: Keep Donald Trump in office.
These are the facts, Madam Speaker, facts that were backed up last week by a Federal judge, who, after reviewing some of the evidence our committee has in its possession, said, in part, ``The illegality of the plan was obvious.''
We are here today to hold two individuals involved, Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino, in contempt of Congress.
Peter Navarro has failed to comply with our investigation in any way despite the fact that he has given multiple TV interviews. In fact, Mr. Navarro appeared on television in support of the former President's failed reelection efforts, so much so that he was found to have repeatedly violated the Hatch Act.
But his political work did not stop when the election was over. We know Mr. Navarro led a call with State legislators about the efforts to convince Vice President Pence to delay election certification for 10 days. We know Mr. Navarro spoke to Steve Bannon, both during and after the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Mr. Navarro has publicly stated that he is protected by executive privilege, but he has never sought counsel, as others have, and he has not filed any case seeking relief from his responsibilities to comply with our lawful subpoena.
This is a textbook case for contempt, Madam Speaker. While I am not surprised by some of my colleagues who refuse to pull their heads out of the sand and face the facts of what really happened and continues to happen, I remain deeply concerned about what this country looks like if the perpetrators aren't held accountable.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 1037.
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