Washington, Jun 3 (AP) The Justice Department is dropping a lawsuit that it filed against White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a case in which he was accused of using an unofficial email account for government work and wrongfully retaining presidential records during the first Trump administration, according to a Tuesday court filing.

The joint filing by the Justice Department and an attorney for Navarro doesn't explain why they are abandoning a case that was filed in 2022, during President Joe Biden's term in office. The one-page filing says each side will bear their own fees and costs.

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The lawsuit accused Navarro of using at least one "non-official" email account — a ProtonMail account — to send and receive emails. The legal action comes just weeks after Navarro was indicted on criminal charges after refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Navarro served a four-month prison sentence after being found guilty of misdemeanour charges.

The civil cases alleges that by using the unofficial email account, Navarro failed to turn over presidential records to the National Archives and Records Administration.

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The government notified the court of the lawsuit's dismissal a day before US Magistrate G. Michael Harvey was scheduled to preside over a status conference for the case.

A Justice Department spokesperson and a lawyer for Navarro didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Navarro served as a trade adviser during President Donald Trump's first term. A longtime critic of trade arrangements with China, he has been named senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing for Trump's second administration. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)