U.S. Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida, Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Andy Biggs of Arizona sent a letter to BOP Director Colette Peters, directing her to appear before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance on June 13 over the "politicization of [the] BOP."
"We write regarding several issues that are of pressing concern to the committee, including allegations of disparate treatment of inmates in BOP custody for political reasons and reports that BOP is denying members of this committee the ability to meet and speak with inmates in BOP custody," states the letter signed by Jordan (chairman of the Judiciary Committee), Gaetz, and Biggs (subcommittee chairman).
On May 6, Gaetz claimed on the House floor that Peters denied his request to speak with Navarro on the grounds that Navarro "is too notorious" to be interviewed by a member of Congress. Gaetz also said Navarro had not been permitted to meet with his attorney.
"I rise to alert this house of the actions of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which seems to be vindicating the claim made by Peter Navarro that he is being held as a political prisoner," Gaetz said. "I have been trying for five weeks to be able to interview Mr. Navarro, and there are provisions that ought to allow this."
When reached by New Times, BOP's public affairs office said that the bureau responds directly to members of Congress and their staff, and that "out of respect and deference to the members, we do not share our Congressional correspondence with the media."
"However, all individuals in our custody are continually encouraged to maintain contact with loved ones, friends, and outside resources," BOP says.
The bureau adds that the facility warden has final approval authority of interview requests.
Navarro, who served as the director of trade and manufacturing policy for Trump, was at the center of Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Following the election, he released a 30-page document entitled "Navarro Report: The Immaculate Deception," which outlined Trump's case for alleged rampant voter fraud.BREAKING: I was informed today by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons that my request to interview @RealPNavarro would be denied. And her reason is that Peter Navarro is “too notorious” to be interviewed by a member of Congress!
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 6, 2024
John Gotti was interviewed in prison.… pic.twitter.com/lCVDwEfNa6
Many of the points outlined in the document were roundly rejected in federal court by judges appointed by Trump himself.
In September 2023, Navarro was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to provide documents and testify before the House Select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. He reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami on March 19, having lost a last-ditch attempt to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to block his four-month sentence.
Commenting on Navarro's refusal to comply with subpoenas, the Republican vice chair of the committee investigating the Capitol riot, then-U.S. representative Liz Cheney, argued that "in America, no one is above the law."
"There is no such thing in America as the 'privileges of the Crown.' Every citizen has a duty to comply with a subpoena," Cheney said in her 2022 remarks about Navarro.
"Mr. Speaker, those in this chamber who continue to embrace the former president and his dangerous and destructive lies ought to take a good hard look at themselves. At a moment of real danger to our Republic, when the need for fidelity to our Constitution is paramount, they have abandoned their oaths in order to perform for Donald Trump. That will be their legacy," Cheney said.
Gaetz recently claimed on the House floor that what is happening to Navarro is "shameful," and that his ordeal was "based on a sham January 6 committee, a sham indictment, and a sham conviction that we ought to remediate immediately upon President Trump's rightful and righteous return to office."
"John Gotti was interviewed when he was in prison," Gaetz said. "The QAnon Shaman was interviewed in prison. Director Peters herself brought NBC News through prisons to showcase the work of corrections that's being done."
In their letter, the Republican congressmen say BOP also has not complied with their inquiries related to the treatment of Jason Galanis, a witness in the House impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Serving more than 15 years in prison for his role in multiple fraud schemes, Galanis testified in February 2024 that he worked with Hunter Biden, the president's son, to form a private equity business in 2014 and that Hunter touted his connection to his father (who was vice president at the time) as a means to close deals.
"We understand from Mr. Galanis that he has been the 'victim of a pattern of retribution by the Department of Justice in order to prevent [his] home confinement, which would have allowed full and free access to congressional investigators,'" the letter states.
According to the letter, Peters was issued a subpoena to produce the requested material no later than May 17.
