WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) — The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way on Monday for the Justice Department to move forward with dismissing a criminal case in which Steve Bannon, an influential ally of President Donald Trump, was convicted after defying a congressional subpoena.
Bannon was convicted by a jury in Washington in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents or testimony to a Democratic-led House of Representatives panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a lower court’s decision to uphold Bannon’s conviction.
Trump’s Justice Department, in urging the Supreme Court to toss the lower court’s decision, told the justices in court papers it has determined that dismissal of Bannon’s case “is in the interests of justice.” The department already had filed a motion to dismiss the case at the trial court level.
After the Supreme Court in 2024 denied Bannon’s request to keep him out of prison while his appeal played out, he served a four-month sentence at a low-security federal facility in Danbury, Connecticut.
M. Evan Corcoran, a lawyer for Bannon, welcomed the Supreme Court’s action on Monday.
“It has been one battle after another for five years, but today the Supreme Court vacated an unjust conviction, and in doing so validated a fundamental rule—like oil and water, politics and prosecution don’t mix,” Corcoran said.
The Justice Department declined to comment on Monday.
The Supreme Court, in a brief unsigned order, returned the case to the lower court for further consideration “in light of the pending motion to dismiss the indictment.”
Bannon called the House committee’s probe and the charges brought against him by the Justice Department during Biden’s presidency politically motivated.
White House Strategist
Bannon, 72, served as a key adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and his chief White House strategist in 2017 during Trump’s first term in office before a falling out between them that was later patched up.
Bannon was released from prison a week before Trump’s victory over Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Bannon cast himself as a political prisoner and told reporters upon his release, “I am far from broken. I have been empowered by my four months at Danbury federal prison.” Bannon resumed hosting his “War Room” podcast.
A firebrand, Bannon helped articulate the “America First” right-wing populism and stout opposition to immigration that has helped define Trump’s presidency. Bannon has played an instrumental role in right-wing media and has promoted right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad.
According to the House committee, Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice on the day before the January 6 attack, attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel, and said on his podcast that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”
Lawyers for Bannon raised various legal arguments to contest the subpoena, including issues related to executive privilege, a legal principle that lets a president keep certain communications private, and the congressional committee’s authority to issue the subpoena.
Trump pardoned those who were convicted in connection with the Capitol riot, as well as his former lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell and dozens of other allies who were accused of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Reporting by John Kruzel; Additional Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Will Dunham)
