The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) justified its decision to arrest Trump advisor Peter Navarro by claiming he was “combative,” but audio of his May 2022 encounter with FBI agents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation undermines their reasoning.
A voice recording of the incident indicates Navarro did not become aggressive while expressing frustration with the FBI agents who knocked on his door to serve him a subpoena, according to audio Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley is expected to make public Tuesday along with other whistleblower records.
Navarro, who serves as senior counselor for trade and manufacturing and filled a similar role during the first Trump administration, has objected to the FBI’s choice to arrest him at Reagan National Airport as he was heading to a speaking engagement on June 3, 2022. He spent four months in prison in 2024 for refusing to comply with a Jan. 6 committee subpoena.
“Contrary to the Defendant’s claims, however, it is not law enforcement’s normal practice to ask combative, unrepresented subjects to self-surrender,” the Biden DOJ wrote in an Aug. 15, 2022 court filing. “At the time he was indicted and arrested, the Defendant was not represented. And only a few days before, when the case agents attempted to interview him and serve him with a subpoena at his residence, the Defendant at first refused to open the door and then, when he did, told the agents to ‘get the f*** out of here.’”
Even the judge who ultimately sentenced Navarro was surprised he was not offered the opportunity to self-surrender.
“It is curious … at a minimum why the government treated Mr. Navarro’s arrest in the way it did,” U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointee, said during a July 2022 hearing, according to Politico. “It is a federal crime, but it is not a violent crime.”
Navarro’s attorneys declined to comment further on the matter.
LISTEN:
During the short exchange, Navarro tells FBI agents Walter Giardina and Sebastian Gardner to leave the subpoena at the door. After opening the door, Navarro declines to answer questions and tells the agents to “get the fuck out” — though his tone remains calm.
“Do you have any idea what this is about or are you just doing this for the FBI?” Navarro asked.
Giardina replied they are there to ask a “couple of questions.”
“I’m not answering any questions, you have the subpoena, you can get the fuck out of here now, ok?” Navarro said. “Just get the fuck out of here. You go next door, this is intimidation by Merrick Garland, by the FBI. You guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”
“Have a great day,” the agents respond.
Though Navarro is back in the administration, he is continuing to press his appeal and urged the DOJ in a recent court filing to explain why it is reversing course after defending the contempt of Congress charges for years.
“The Department of Justice should not be allowed to disavow, without explanation or acknowledgment of its reasons, the positions it has pursued in this case for more than three years,” Navarro argued.
Giardina was fired from the FBI in August. Grassley notified FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi of Giardina’s alleged “misconduct” in June, citing whistleblower allegations that Giardina falsely stated the Steele Dossier was “corroborated as true,” wiped a laptop he was assigned while working for special counsel Robert Mueller and made “his animosity toward President Trump” openly known.
“If the allegations are true, he and everyone else involved, must be held accountable,” Grassley wrote.
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