Former Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro has been ordered to report to prison this month, which could make him the first senior member of the former US president’s administration to do so for efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat.

Navarro, who served as Trump’s trade adviser, is due next Tuesday to begin his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the US House of Representatives committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, his lawyers revealed in a court filing late on Sunday.

They are asking a federal appeals court in Washington to pause the sentence while Navarro appeals his conviction. His defence team indicated they would ask the US Supreme Court to intervene if his request is denied.

Navarro, 74, was found guilty of contempt of Congress in September for refusing to turn over documents or sit for an interview with the Democratic-led House committee that investigated the Capitol riot, a failed attempt by Trump supporters to overturn Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election. He was sentenced in January.

Navarro, a China hawk who also advised Trump on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has claimed Trump invoked the legal doctrine of executive privilege, which shields some presidential records and communications from disclosure.

A federal judge found Trump had not formerly invoked the privilege.

Steve Bannon, a one-time top strategist to Trump, was also sentenced to four months in prison for defying a subpoena from the January 6 panel, but a judge has allowed him to remain free while he appeals.

– AAP