The Indictment of Navarro is Unconstitutional

by Alan M. Dershowitz, GATESTONE  •  June 7, 2022

• Navarro has a strong claim of executive privilege that should be decided by the courts before any indictment can lawfully issue.
• [A]bsent a judicial order, he cannot lawfully be indicted for invoking executive privilege and refusing to reveal arguably privileged material just because a committee of Congress, controlled by Democrats, has voted that he should. It is not enough to allow him to appeal after the fact, because information, once revealed, cannot be erased. He is obliged to claim privilege now and refuse to respond. That is not a crime. It is the constitutionally correct action.

<

• Navarro’s indictment violates several key constitutional rights, including due process, fair warning and executive privilege. It also violates the separation of powers, under which the courts have the authority to resolve conflicts between the legislative and executive branches over claims of executive privilege in response to legislative subpoenas. Due process and fair warning require that these issues first be resolved by the courts before an indictment can be issued.
• The Biden Justice Department knows the law and it should not be acting lawlessly to make political points.
• In an age of partisan law enforcement, however, it is far from certain that neutral justice will be done. Some courts have been caught up in result-oriented injustice….
• The Bible admonishes judges not to “recognize faces.” That command is the origin of the blindfolded statue of Lady Justice. But in our age of pervasive partisanship, too many judges peek out their blindfolds and rule differently based on the faces and political affiliations of the litigants.

The indictment of Peter Navarro for contempt of Congress violates several provisions of the Constitution and should be dismissed. Navarro has a strong claim of executive privilege that should be decided by the courts before any indictment can lawfully issue. Pictured: Navarro speaks to the media after his hearing in federal court on June 3, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)<
>
The indictment of Peter Navarro for contempt of Congress violates several provisions of the Constitution and should be dismissed. Navarro has a strong claim of executive privilege that should be decided by the courts before any indictment can lawfully issue.

Continue Reading Article