Dem
51
GOP
49
Donald Trump might be able to achieve endless delays in his various criminal matters, but many of his underlings are not so lucky. Maybe they don't have as many lawyers, or as much money to spend on shenanigans. Maybe they were more reckless than he was, and so left themselves more clearly exposed. Maybe their crimes were simpler, and lent themselves to very little legal black magick. Or maybe they didn't appoint the judge hearing their case to the bench, and so they don't have a chit to call in.
Whatever the explanation is, another Trump lackey is headed to the hoosegow, such that he will be a guest of Uncle Sam by the time we publish next week's Schadenfreude. That would be Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who failed to comply with a Congressional subpoena, and was sentenced to 4 months in prison, with a reporting date of no later than March 19.
Navarro has argued that he was covered by executive privilege, and that his sentence should be put on hold until he is able to fully explore that argument through the appeals process. This week, a three-judge panel from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that assertion in no uncertain terms. In their unsigned, unanimous order, the judges declare:
Appellant has not shown that his appeal presents substantial questions of law or fact likely to result in reversal, a new trial, a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment, or a reduced sentence of imprisonment that is less than the amount of time already served plus the expected duration of the appeal process.
In other words: "Your case may still be under appeal, Pete, but we're here to tell you that your appeal is most certainly going to fail, so off to prison you go."
Obviously, Navarro was just trying to buy 6 months or so, in the hopes of a Trump reelection, and the resulting insta-pardon. But that's not going to happen, and instead he'll spend his spring (and part of his summer) doing whatever minimum security federal prisoners do all day. Probably macramé, or making lanyards, or crafting bird houses out of popsicle sticks, or something like that. (Z)