The committee voted 9-0 to send the recommendation to Parliament. The panel consists of seven Democrats and two Republicans, who participate without the approval of the GOP leadership. The committee vote paves the way for Parliament to vote on whether the couple should be referred to the Department of Justice for a misdemeanor that carries up to one year in prison and fines of up to $ 100,000. Navarro, a trade adviser during the Trump administration, and Scavino, who served as White House deputy chief of staff, defied calls from the commission to testify and hand over documents related to last year’s crackdown. electoral votes in 2020 during a joint congressional session. According to a report released by the commission on Sunday, both Navarro and Scavino cited the “executive privilege” as a reason for not cooperating with the commission, arguing that only former President Donald Trump could relinquish the privilege. , even though President Joe Biden already has it. The commission said the former aides “played a key role in the former president’s attempt to overthrow the 2020 election”. In particular, the panel said that Navarro publicly bragged about plans to overthrow the 2020 election results and even published a book last year in which he referred to the plan as the “Green Bay Sweep.” He said it was designed as “Last, the best opportunity to snatch a stolen election from the jaws of a Democrat.” Analyzing the plan in detail, Navarro said the goal was for lawmakers in the Capitol to discuss the election results from six states, in the hope that Congress would declare the results questionable. This would set the stage for Parliament to elect a president based on each congressional delegation that receives one vote. With Republicans controlling more state delegations than Democrats, Navarro’s plan called for Trump to run for a second term. Navarro has said Trump was “in line with the strategy,” along with more than 100 members of Congress, according to the commission. Navarro did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Scavino, who ran Trump’s social media, was one of the first people invited by the commission last year. The commission said in a statement that Scavino “worked with President Trump as part of the then-President’s campaign to overthrow the election results. recruiting a crowd in Washington for the events of January 6. “ The former deputy chief of staff “reportedly attended several meetings with the president to discuss election challenges. Mr. Scavino also watched social media on behalf of President Trump, and did so at a time when “Mr. Scavino suggested the possibility of violence on January 6,” the commission said in a statement. The panel added that Scavino also worked for Trump’s presidential campaign and “continued to do so after the 2020 election, promoting activities designed to reverse the outcome of a lost election.” “Mr. Scavino worked directly with President Trump to spread the false message of President Trump that the election was stolen and to recruit Americans to come to Washington with the false promise that January 6 would be an opportunity to ‘take back the their country “,” committee. Vice President Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Said Monday shortly before the vote. “The Commission has a lot of questions for Mr Scavino about his political work on social media about President Trump, including his interactions with an online forum called ‘The Donald’ and with Qanon, a strange and dangerous cult. ». Scavino’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The House has already voted on criminal charges against two other officials who defied the committee’s calls – former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The Department of Justice acted on the Bannon recommendation, which it does not always do. Bannon was charged with two counts of contempt. He pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in July. The Justice Department did not act on the referral against Meadows, which was voted on by Parliament in December. The committee’s vote Monday night came just hours after a California federal judge ruled in a political case involving the emails of attorney John Eastman, an ally of Trump, that “it is more likely that President Trump and. Eastman conspired dishonestly to disrupt the Joint Session of Congress. on January 6, 2021 “and ordered Eastman to deliver 101 emails to the House panel. Following Monday’s vote, the committee was expected to hold a closed-door meeting to discuss whether members should request an interview with Virginia Ginny Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, about text messages between her and former White House Chief of Staff Mark. Meadows in which he urged him to pressure Trump to fight the election results. Two sources told NBC on Monday that the commission was set to summon Ginny Thomas for an interview but would discuss the matter in full during a closed-door meeting Monday night. The panel is scheduled to interview former Trump’s top adviser Jared Kouchner, the former president’s son-in-law, later this week, three sources confirmed to NBC News. Kouchner’s scheduled appearance on Thursday was first reported by ABC News.
