Overview
- The Supreme Court issued a brief unsigned order Monday that erased an appeals ruling upholding Steve Bannon’s conviction and sent the case back to consider a Justice Department move to dismiss.
- Both the government and Bannon sought this outcome, and DOJ has said dropping the case is in the interests of justice and has already filed to dismiss in district court.
- Bannon was found guilty in 2022 of contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas from the House Jan. 6 panel, then served four months in federal prison in 2024 and paid about $6,500.
- The expected dismissal would clear the federal conviction from his record, though he already served the time, and his 2025 New York fraud conviction is unaffected.
- Courts had rejected his claims of executive privilege and reliance on counsel, and the DOJ shift comes as the Trump administration moves to roll back prosecutions involving some of the Jan. 6 cases.