Politico:  “A congressional committee investigating the Trump administration’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic issued a subpoena for former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Thursday for failing to respond to document and interview requests. The subpoena is the second issued by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis since its formation last year. The committee is probing whether former Trump administration officials mishandled the federal response to the pandemic, specifically whether it interfered with its own health agencies’ work and how it attempted to change its messaging to downplay the threats posed by the virus.

“The committee issued its first subpoena to Steven Hatfill, a virologist and former adviser to Navarro, in September. The committee also sent a document request to Navarro that month. Thursday’s subpoena compels Navarro to produce documents by Dec. 8 and appear for a deposition by Dec. 15. In a statement to POLITICO, Navarro called the congressional investigation and the subpoena a ‘witch hunt.’ ‘I will be delivering a case of my new book “In Trump Time” to members of the committee which explains why this is indeed a witch hunt,’ he said.

“Navarro joined the administration at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s term as director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. When the pandemic hit, Navarro became an increasingly influential member of the White House team responding to the virus, advising the president on supply shortages and methods to keep the American economy running during lockdowns. His testimony and personal materials would help shed light on how the Trump administration reacted to early warnings about the virus, its potential economic consequences and how it went about securing goods such as masks, gowns and ventilators. Through prior testimony and document requests, the committee found that Navarro kept a daily journal about his time in the White House and used an encrypted personal email account to communicate with White House personnel between February 2020 and January 2021.”