USA Supreme Court clears way for dismissal of Steve Bannon’s conviction
John Kruzel
Washington: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the Justice Department to move forward to dismiss the case in which Steve Bannon, an influential ally of President Donald Trump, was convicted after defying a congressional subpoena.
The justices rejected a lower court order that upheld Bannon’s 2022 conviction for refusing to turn over documents or testify to a congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
Trump’s Justice Department called on the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s decision, while telling the justices in court documents that it had decided it was “in the interest of justice” to dismiss Bannon’s case. The Ministry submitted a petition to reject the case at the first instance court level.
In a brief, unsigned order, the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the lower court for further consideration “in light of the pending motion to dismiss the indictment.”
Bannon was convicted by a jury in Washington of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents or testimony to a Democratic-led House committee investigating the Capitol attack.
The rioters had tried to prevent congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory over Trump in the Republican president’s unsuccessful 2020 re-election bid. Bannon said the House committee’s investigation and the charges brought against him by the Justice Department during Biden’s presidency were politically motivated.
Bannon, 72, was a key adviser in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and served as the White House’s chief strategist during Trump’s first term in office in 2017, before their disagreement was later patched up.
At the sentencing hearing of the case, prosecutor JP Cooney said Bannon had chosen to “turn his nose up at Congress.” “Bannon is not above the law, and that’s what makes this case important,” Cooney said.
In June 2024, Bannon served a four-month sentence at a low-security federal facility in Danbury, Connecticut, after the Supreme Court denied Bannon’s request to keep him out of prison pending the outcome of his appeal. Bannon was released a week before Trump’s victory over Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 elections.
Bannon portrayed himself as a political prisoner and told reporters after his release: “I am far from broken. I have been strengthened by the four months I spent in the Danbury federal prison.” Bannon continued to host the “War Room” podcast.
A firebrand, Bannon helped articulate the “America First” right-wing populism and strong opposition to immigration that helped define Trump’s presidency. Bannon has played an influential role in right-wing media and has supported right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad.
Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice the day before the Jan. 6 attack, attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel and said on his podcast that “all hell will break loose tomorrow,” according to a House committee.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld Bannon’s conviction in 2024, leading Bannon to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Bannon’s lawyers have advanced several legal arguments to challenge the subpoena, including issues related to executive privilege, a legal principle that allows the president to keep certain communications secret, and a congressional committee’s authority to issue the subpoena.
Bannon also faced other legal problems. Bannon pleaded guilty to fraud charges in New York state court in February 2025 after prosecutors accused him of deceiving donors in a private fundraising campaign in support of Trump’s wall on the US-Mexico border in 2019. Bannon avoided prison time in this case.
Trump pardoned Bannon in 2021 after he was indicted on federal charges that also related to fundraising for the border wall.
Reuters
