The committee probing the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol is moving towards holding two senior aides to former President Donald Trump in contempt of Congress for not complying with subpoenas.

Peter Navarro, was a trade adviser to the then president, while Daniel Scavino, was a Trump deputy chief of staff.

The Select Committee said it would hold a meeting on Monday to vote on a report recommending the full House cite them for contempt of Congress and refer them for federal prosecution.

Mr Trump has urged associates not to co-operate with the committee, calling the Democratic-led investigation politically motivated and arguing his communications are protected by executive privilege, although many legal experts have said that legal principle does not apply to former presidents.

The committee announced on February 9 it had subpoenaed Mr Navarro, a key player in Mr Trump’s effort to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Mr Biden’s administration said in a letter on February 28 it was denying executive privilege to Navarro, saying it was not in the national interest.

Mr Navarro has said in media interviews and in his book that he helped co-ordinate an effort — ‘the Green Bay Sweep’ — to halt certification of Biden’s victory and keep Trump in power.

Mr Scavino was subpoenaed in September.

The committee said he was a witness to Mr Trump’s activities on the day of the assault of the seat of US government by thousands of the defeated president’s supporters.

Neither man could be reached for comment.

If the January 6 Select Committee approves the contempt of Congress report, the matter would be referred to a vote in the full Democratic-controlled House.

The House has already approved criminal referrals for two others who defied subpoenas — Steve Bannon, Mr Trump’s former chief strategist, and Mark Meadows, a former House member who was one of Trump’s White House chiefs of staff.

Mr Bannon faces federal charges for refusing to co-operate with the committee and declining to produce documents.

The House voted on Mr Meadows in December, but the Justice Department has not yet announced whether it will take action.

– AAP