Peter Navarro asks Supreme Court to get him out of jail just 15 days into sentence

Peter Navarro, the jailed former trade adviser to Donald Trump, has called on US Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch to reconsider Chief Justice John Roberts’ decision to reject his plea to be allowed to remain out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction.

Navarro, 74, surrendered to authorities on 19 March to begin a four-month sentence at the low-security FCI Miami prison in Florida after he was convicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to provide testimony or documentary evidence when requested by the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

The bipartisan panel had wanted to hear from Navarro about the plot to prevent the certification of the 2020 election results at a joint session of Congress presided over by then-vice president Mike Pence, which took place on the day of the attack and was delayed by the rioters’ invasion of the legislative complex but ultimately not prevented.

Navarro had referred to the plan as “Green Bay Sweep” in his book In Trump Time (2021) but refused to comply with a subpoena to discuss it with the committee, subsequently arguing, unsuccessfully, that Mr Trump had asserted executive privilege over his testimony and evidence relating to the failed insurrection.

On 7 September last year, a jury found him guilty on both counts after fewer than four hours of deliberation following a two-day trial during which the ex-Trump aide’s defence team presented no witnesses of their own.

Prior to entering prison last month, Navarro delivered a brief press conference in a parking lot in which he attempted to portray himself as a martyr to Democrat-led persecution in grandiose terms and, like Mr Trump, baselessly bemoaned