WASHINGTON, Aug 4 ― The US Department of Justice yesterday sued Peter Navarro, an adviser to former President Donald Trump, seeking emails from his time in the White House that he has refused to return without a grant of immunity.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Washington, DC, centres on Navarro's use of a personal ProtonMail for some official White House business.
“Mr. Navarro is wrongfully retaining presidential records that are the property of the United States, and which constitute part of the permanent historical record of the prior administration,” Justice Department attorneys said in the lawsuit.
Attorneys for Navarro could not immediately be reached for comment.
The case is unrelated to misdemeanour contempt of Congress charges of filed against Navarro by the US government in June over his refusal to provide testimony or documents to a House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021 riots.
Navarro last month declined an offer by the government to plead guilty to a contempt of Congress charge, according to federal prosecutors. ― Reuters
