Former President Donald Trump's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, is currently serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress. The ex-president reportedly interpreted Navarro's defiance of authorities as a gesture of loyalty to be rewarded should be return to the White House.
Rolling Stone reported Saturday that the former president may end up not only pardoning, but giving a White House job to the man he refers to as "my Peter" due to his unwavering support for Trump. He even reportedly made a remark to an aide similar to one he made in 2016, in which he said he could shoot someone "in the middle of Fifth Avenue" and not lose any supporters.
"In recent weeks, Trump has joked behind closed doors that Navarro is so loyal to him that somebody could waterboard his former White House aide, and Navarro still would refuse to 'rat' on him, according to a Republican source who was privy to the conversation," wrote reporters Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley.
READ MORE: Convicted Trump aide Peter Navarro asks Justice Gorsuch to spring him from federal prison
Rolling Stone reported that several of the ex-president's unnamed former staff members say Trump uses "mob speak," in which he speaks in thinly coded language that strongly infers a deeper meaning. The word "rat" has typically been used in organized crime circles to refer to former mobsters who agree to testify against their former bosses in plea agreements to avoid prosecution. Notably, Donald Trump Jr. used the term "DC swamp rats" to refer to insufficiently loyal careerists he aims to keep out of their father's administration should he win the election this fall.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Donald Jr. said Navarro was "railroaded by the same corrupt system that is trying to railroad my father," and that it was "important to show my support for him."
"He’s a good man, who was wrongfully convicted," Trump Jr. said. "Even though I just had knee surgery a few days ago, I wanted Peter to know that my entire family is praying for him and will always have his back."
Rawnsley and Suebsaeng cited other anonymous sources close to Trump who say that the 45th president has "privately marveled" at Navarro's refusal to turn on him and actually spend time behind bars for defying Congress.
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"The former president has said that once Navarro is out of prison, 'we’re going to take care of him,' a source with direct knowledge of this comment says," they wrote. "The ex-president has also repeatedly asked confidants how Navarro is doing behind bars, this source, and another person briefed on the situation, add."
Navarro was initially subpoenaed by the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack to discuss his role in the lead-up to the disruption of Congress' certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote count. However, Navarro refused to appear, calling the proceedings a "kangaroo court."
He and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon were both sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of Congress. Navarro has already been behind bars, and Bannon is expected to report for his sentence in the coming weeks.
Click here to read Rolling Stone's full report (subscription required).
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