Peter Navarro, who was a trade adviser to then-President Donald Trump, appeared in U.S. District Court after he was indicted on contempt charges for his failure to comply with a subpoena from the House panel investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He spoke to reporters after and said he plans to represent himself pro se because he doesn’t want to be “dragged down into the muck.”

Video Transcript

PETER NAVARRO: I'm representing myself pro se because I do not want to be dragged down into the muck of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of my retirement savings on this kind of venture. I'm going to evaluate my legal strategy in light of what has happened with this and there'll be more to follow. But if you would please, don't scream at me when I stop. Don't follow me. Just let me walk home and I would much appreciate that. It's been a long day. I've been generous with my time. God bless America. Thank you.