House approves criminal contempt referrals for 2 Trump aides over the Jan. 6 attack

House approves criminal contempt referrals for 2 Trump¹ aides over the Jan. 6 attack

Transcript²

The U.S. House voted Wednesday to hold former Trump White House aides Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino in criminal contempt of Congress after they defied subpoenas³ from the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The move comes after the Democratic-led panel last month approved a contempt report against Navarro, the former trade adviser⁴, and Scavino, a former deputy chief of staff.

The 220-203 floor vote, cast largely along party lines, triggers a series of steps to send the criminal referrals to the U.S. attorney's office, leaving the Justice Department to decide whether it will pursue prosecution⁵.

Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, the only two Republicans appointed to serve on the select committee, were the only two from their party to vote for the referral.

"To run into this kind of obstruction⁶, this kind of cynical⁷ behavior, as we investigate a violent insurrection, is just despicable," select committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said on the House floor ahead of the vote. "It can't stand. Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro must be held accountable for their abuses of the public trust. They must be held accountable for their defiance⁸ of the law. They are in contempt of Congress, which is a crime."

The vote came after a day of heated debate on the House floor as Republicans attacked the committee's work and used stalling tactics to divert attention to immigration concerns instead. For example, more than 60 Republicans asked during earlier debate to take up a border security bill instead.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy railed against the committee for putting on a "political show trial" using the insurrection as a "blank check" for its investigation⁹. McCarthy also called its work a "disgusting betrayal of the Constitution" and said the referrals were about "criminalizing dissent¹⁰."

McCarthy vowed¹¹ to shut down the panel if Republicans take over control of the House next year — which many projections¹² show they have a good chance of doing.

"Do we really want to live in a country where politicians can seize your phone records, compel your testimony¹³ and ignore your rights because they disagree with your politics?" McCarthy asked. "Most Americans don't want to live in a country like that. That happens in Russia, communist China and North Korea and it should never happen in America. But, Mister Speaker, under one party rule it is. But to all Americans, when we take back the House, it will stop."

That did little to dissuade¹⁴ Cheney, the panel's ranking Republican. She highlighted the committee's more than 800 interviews and depositions¹⁶ with witnesses, including more than a dozen ex-Trump White House staffers.

"When you hear my colleagues make political, partisan¹⁷ attacks on the select committee, I hope all of us can remember some basic facts," Cheney said.

"Through these interviews, we have learned that President Trump and his team were warned in advance, and repeatedly, that the efforts they undertook to overturn the 2020 election would violate the law and the Constitution," Cheney added. "They were warned that January Sixth could and likely would turn violent."

Scavino and Navarro have repeatedly refuted the claims of the committee, saying executive privilege has prevented their cooperation with subpoenas from the Democratic-led committee. The subpoenas compelled them to produce documents and testify.

However, President Biden waived¹⁸ executive privilege claims in both cases.

The panel had issued a 34-page report and two dozen exhibits documenting attempts get Navarro and Scavino to cooperate. Scavino's deposition¹⁵ date was scheduled and rescheduled six different times, Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Jan. 6 panel member, said during Wednesday's debate.

Navarro was subpoenaed¹⁹ in February, while Scavino was among the first wave of ex-Trump officials subpoenaed last September.

Wednesday's floor vote marks the third for a criminal contempt referral effort tied to the Jan. 6 committee's work. Previously²⁰, the House has approved criminal referrals for ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

So far, the Justice Department has only pursued prosecution for one of those cases, Bannon, who is now battling related criminal charges.

In each case, a subpoenaed witness could face up a year in jail for each contempt charge, plus fines of up to $1,000 each.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

6 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

7 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

8 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

11 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

12 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

13 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

14 dissuade   

v.劝阻，阻止

参考例句：

• You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好劝阻他别那样干。
• I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾设法劝她不要投资于股票交易。

15 deposition   

n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物

参考例句：

• It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。
• This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

16 depositions   

沉积（物）( deposition的名词复数 )； （在法庭上的）宣誓作证； 处置； 罢免

参考例句：

• The safety problems are more severe for low-pressure depositions because the processes often use concentrated gases. 对于低压淀积来说安全性问题更为突出，因为这种工艺通常使用高浓度的气体。
• The chief method is to take depositions of parties and witnesses. 主要的方法是录取当事人和证人的宣誓证言。 来自口语例句

17 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

18 waived   

v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• He has waived all claim to the money. 他放弃了索取这笔钱的权利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I waived the discourse, and began to talk of my business. 我撇开了这个话题，开始讲我的事情。 来自辞典例句

19 subpoenaed   

v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court subpoenaed her to appear as a witness. 法庭传唤她出庭作证。
• The finance director is subpoenaed by prosecution. 财务经理被检查机关传讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。