Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro files lawsuit over grand jury subpoena

Former Trump White House trade advisor Peter Navarro filed a lawsuit challenging a grand jury subpoena that would compel him to testify about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The House Jan. 6 committee issued the subpoena to Navarro in February and accused him of working with Trump strategist Steve Bannon to "develop and implement a plan to delay Congress's certification of, and ultimately change the outcome of, the November 2020 presidential election,” according to Politico.

Defendents named by Navarro in his 88-page lawsuit include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, all members of the Jan. 6 committee and U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Matthew Graves.

Representing himself, Navarro argues the Jan. 6 committee is "neither duly authorized nor properly constituted and therefore its legislative acts, including its subpoena issued to me.... are therefore ultra vires, unlawful, and unenforceable."

He wrote that last week, "two FBI special agents banged loudly on my door in the early morning hours to present me with a fruit of the poisonous tree Grand Jury Subpoena."

He focused on how the subpoena was "including but not limited to any communications with formal President Trump and/or his counsel or representative."

A grand jury subpoena against Navarro be the harshest step taken against the Trump White House in relation to the Jan. 6 riot, Politico reported.

In his filing, Navarro mentions what would happen if the committee prevails and Democrats are no longer in power.

"If, in this case, the Committee and Joe Biden are able to effectively establish the principle that an incumbent can strip his predecessor of both executive privilege and testimonial immunity, just imagine what will happen to Joe Biden and his advisers if Republicans win both the White House and House in 2024," he wrote. "In fact, I don’t need to imagine this repeat of the strategic game. If I’m not dead or in prison, I will lead the charge."