Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro speaks to the media as he departs federal court in Washington on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who served under Donald Trump, on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to keep him out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction.

On Thursday, a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied the defendant that same request — instead ordering him to surrender to federal lockup authorities by March 19.

Navarro’s emergency application, addressed to Chief Justice John Roberts, complains about the appellate court’s ruling by referring to what his attorneys term “the unprecedented nature” of his conviction.

“Dr. Navarro is the only former senior presidential advisor to be prosecuted for contempt of congress following an assertion of executive privilege by the president that advisor served,” the application reads. “To be clear, the District Court found that Dr. Navarro reasonably believed he was obligated to assert executive privilege on behalf of former President Donald Trump and there is no dispute that Dr. Navarro actually asserted executive privilege in response to the congressional subpoena he received.”