Former Assistant to President Trump Refuses To Participate in a “Democrat Witch Hunt,” Citing Executive Privilege

"This is not my privilege to waive. Only President Trump can waive the privilege.”

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES, December 14, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Former Assistant to the President for Trade and Manufacturing Policy and Defense Production Act Policy Coordinator Dr. Peter Navarro has delivered a letter to the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis indicating his refusal to participate in what he describes as “a partisan witch hunt. With this refusal, Navarro seeks to uphold a principle critical to effective presidential decision-making, that of Executive Privilege. States Navarro:

“The abiding facts of the case are quite simple. President Donald John Trump, my Commander in Chief, has invoked Executive Privilege with respect to any interactions with your Subcommittee; and the law is very clear on this. This is not my privilege to waive. Only President Trump can waive the privilege.”

Navarro adds: “Clearly, the best and proper course of action for your Subcommittee is to negotiate any waiver of the privilege with the president and his attorneys directly, not through me. “

In rejecting the Subcommittee’s demands, Navarro apprises Chairman James E. Clyburn of the “shoddiness of the legal work” that alleges to support the Subcommittee’s insistence that Executive Privilege be violated. Writes Navarro:

“You brazenly ignore considerable legal precedent and facts demonstrating why executive privilege is applicable in this instance. While I have no intention of doing your legal work for you, you may want to review at least Nixon v. Adm’r of Gen Services, 433 U.S. 425, 448-49 (1977), Loving v. DOD, 550 F.3d 32 (D.C. Cir. 2008); Comm. On the Judiciary v. McGahn, 415 F. Supp. 3d 148, FN 34 (D.D.C. 2019); Mapother v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 3 F.3d 1533, 1537 (D.C. Cir. 1993); Russell v. Dep’t of Air Force, 682 F.2d 1045, 1048 (D.C. Cir. 1982) (en banc); Dep’t of Interior v. Klamath Water Users Protective Ass’n., 532 U.S. 1, 8-9 (2001); and Coastal States Gas Corp. v. U.S. Dep’t of Energy, 617 F.2d 854, 868 (D.C. Cir. 1980) just to name several.”

Adds Navarro:

“I was surprised to see you cite Harlow V. Fitzgerald as the centerpiece for your claim that I should bend to your will. This case is clearly and readily distinguishable from the instant case and even the greenest law clerk would know this. The citing of this case also implies that you intend to pursue to some type of criminal charges against me related to the White House handling of the pandemic. This is all the more reason why I will not be coerced into sitting for a deposition before your Star Chamber.”

In speaking to the partisan nature of what Navarro describes as the Subcommittee’s attack on Executive Privilege, Navarro reminds Chairman Clyburn that when Navarro was “arguing on behalf of the ban on travel from Communist China in January of 2020 and writing a dozen memos jumpstarting our pandemic efforts in February of 2020, you, Tony Fauci, and other Democrats like Bill de Blasio and Andrew Cuomo of New York, and Nancy Pelosi of California were totally oblivious to the dangers of the pandemic and were urging people to go out dancing in the streets.”

Claims Navarro, as documented in his book In Trump Time: “My actions during my government service no doubt led to the saving of hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions, of American lives. That you would try to use me as a pawn in your cynical witch hunt game to blame the Trump administration for mismanagement of the pandemic – even as you imply possible criminal charges against me – frankly disturbs me and should disturb the American people.”

Navarro notes the fact that more people have now died from the pandemic during the Biden administration than did during the Trump administration. According to Navarro's analysis of the most recent scientific data: “If hydroxychloroquine had been widely available to the American public since the dawn of the pandemic, over 400,000 Americans would be alive today instead of being buried in the ground – and it’s not too late to use this life-saving medicine. The science is now abundantly clear on that. How about investigating that?”

Navarro adds: “Perhaps your Subcommittee should shift its focus to why Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins used American taxpayer money to fund dangerous gain-of-function experiments at a bioweapons lab in Wuhan, China where the pandemic no doubt originated.”

In closing his letter, Navarro “once again reiterate(s) that the privilege is not mine to give away; and I direct you to President Trump’s attorneys to litigate this.”

Peter Navarro
In Trump Time
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