Washington DC - Peter Navarro, a White House trade advisor to former president Donald Trump, lost his bid on Thursday to stay out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction.

Navarro (74) was found guilty of two counts of contempt in September for refusing to testify before the congressional panel that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.

Navarro, a Harvard-educated economist, was sentenced to four months in prison after a two-day trial in Washington before a federal jury.

He was ordered to report to a prison in Miami on March 19 but asked to remain free while appealing the conviction.

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A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit unanimously rejected his request on Thursday.

"Appellant has not shown that his appeal presents substantial questions of law or fact likely to result in reversal, a new trial, a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment or a reduced sentence of imprisonment," they said.

Navarro could make a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court to stay his jail sentence, but the nation's highest court is unlikely to hear the case.

Navarro would be the first senior Trump advisor to spend time behind bars for actions stemming from the former president's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

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Navarro refused to appear for a deposition before the House of Representatives committee that investigated the January 6 attack on Congress and declined to supply documents to the panel.

After Steve Bannon, he is the second close Trump ally to be convicted of contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas from the House committee.