By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress committee investigating the Jan. 6th, 2021 attack on Capitol voted unanimously Monday to bring “contempt-of-Congress” charges against Peter Navarro and Daniel Scavino. Scavino was a Trump deputy Chief of Staff.

On Monday, a federal judge declared that Trump had “more likely than never” committed a crime by trying to press Mike Pence (his vice president) to overturn Trump’s election loss. [nL2N2VV1K1

Navarro and Scavino have disregarded repeated calls to appear before the committee or to provide information to the panel about events surrounding the attack.

Trump repeated his false claim at a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, that his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 2020 election was the result of widespread fraud, and urged his supporters to march on the Capitol.

Four people died on the day of the riot, and one Capitol police officer who fought with rioters died the next day. Hundreds of police were injured during the onslaught.

Four officers have since taken their own lives.

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

Biden’s administration has denied executive privilege to the former Trump aides, saying it was not in the national interest.

The committee said on Feb. 9 that it had subpoenaed Navarro, a key player in Trump’s effort to overturn his election defeat.

Navarro has said in media interviews and in his book that he helped coordinate an effort to halt certification of Biden’s victory and keep Trump in power.

Scavino was subpoenaed in September. The committee said he was a witness to Trump’s activities on the day of the assault.

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

Bannon faces federal charges for refusing to cooperate with the committee and declining to produce documents. He is scheduled for trial in July.

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