U.S. Capitol riot probe hits Trump adviser Navarro with subpoena

The congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol announced on Wednesday it had subpoenaed former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a key player in then-President Donald Trump's effort to overturn his election defeat.

The congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol announced on Wednesday it had subpoenaed former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a key player in then-President Donald Trump's effort to overturn his election defeat. The committee said it is seeking records and deposition testimony from Navarro who -- according to public reporting, interviews and his own book -- was involved in efforts to delay Congress' certification of the 2020 election.

"Mr. Navarro appears to have information directly relevant to the Select Committee's investigation into the causes of the Jan. 6 attack on the capitol," U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, the committee's Democratic chairman, said in a statement. Navarro did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoena.

He served as White House trade policy adviser under the Republican president. Navarro has said in media interviews that he helped coordinate an effort by congressional Republicans to halt certification of Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory and keep Trump in power. "We spent a lot of time lining up over 100 congressmen, including some senators," Navarro told the Daily Beast last December.

"It was a perfect plan," he added.