Dershowitz to Newsmax: Navarro's Arrest 'Dangerous to Democracy'
"The arrest of Peter Navarro on an indictment charging him with contempt after refusing to comply with the House panel investing the Jan. 6, 2021 incidents at the U.S. Capitol sets a precedent that is "dangerous to democracy," Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz said on Newsmax Saturday.
"It's as if somebody was called to testify about what he told his priest or his doctor or his lawyer," Dershowitz said on Newsmax's "The Count," adding that Navarro was arrested after he said he would not cooperate because former President Donald Trump had initiated executive privilege.
"He invokes the privilege and immediately gets indicted, instead of the government going before a court and the judge rules whether or not the privilege applies."
If the judge ruled that executive privilege did not apply in the case and ordered Navarro to testify, then he could be held in contempt for refusing, argued Dershowitz.
"But you cannot constitutionally be held in contempt of Congress without a judicial order," said Dershowitz. "But if the shoe was on the other foot and it will be on the other foot if the Republicans gained control of Congress or the Senate, they will use this precedent and go after Biden administration officials and indict them if they refused to disclose information."
This, he continued, makes Navarro's arrest "dangerous to democracy, dangerous through the rule of law and dangerous to the concept of privilege, whether it be a priest privilege or a doctor, privileged lawyer privilege or executive privilege. I'm shocked that the justice department brought it without there being a judicial determination that he was compelled to testify."
This means
Navarro's indictment is "unconstitutional," and that's a "real scandal," that is far more concerning than the acquittal of Clinton attorney Michael Sussmann, he continued."
Dershowitz to Newsmax: Navarro's Arrest 'Dangerous to Democracy' | Newsmax.com
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