Overview
- An unsigned Supreme Court order on Monday wiped out a D.C. Circuit ruling that upheld Steve Bannon’s conviction and sent the case back in light of a pending motion to dismiss, opening the way for a trial judge to act.
- The Justice Department under President Trump told the justices it has decided dismissal is in the interests of justice and has already asked the district court to throw out the indictment and conviction.
- Bannon was found guilty in 2022 of contempt of Congress for refusing House Jan. 6 committee subpoenas, and any dismissal now would be largely symbolic because he served four months in 2024 and paid a $6,500 fine.
- The court did not rule on the merits, a common step when the government seeks dismissal, leaving unresolved disputes over whether reliance on counsel or executive-privilege claims can negate the statute’s willfulness requirement.
- The action does not affect Bannon’s separate New York state fraud plea tied to the ‘We Build the Wall’ fundraising effort, which remains in place.