DOJ Asks Judge to Order Ex-Trump Adviser Peter Navarro to Return Private White House Emails

White House Trade and Manufacturing Policy Director Peter Navarro speaks during a briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic in the press briefing room of the White House in Washington on March 27, 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday asked a judge to order former White House adviser Peter Navarro to return private email communications that he sent while working for the Trump administration, claiming that he has “refused” to do so in violation of a record-keeping law.

In a motion filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the DOJ noted that while working as a senior White House advisor from January 2017 until January 2021, Navarro was subject to the terms of the Presidential Records Act (PRA).