DOJ again moves to dismiss Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction
The DOJ has filed another push to have a judge dismiss Trump ally Steve Bannon's conviction over his defiance of a subpoena from the House panel that investigated Jan. 6.
The Department of Justice has filed a renewed request to dismiss former Trump advisor Steve Bannon's conviction for criminal contempt, stemming from his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack. Bannon was initially convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt for defying the subpoena.
He served a four-month prison sentence in 2024. Despite the DOJ's previous motion to dismiss, a Trump-appointed federal judge, Carl Nichols, rejected it, citing a lack of sufficient justification. In their latest filing, the DOJ argues that it no longer intends to pursue the prosecution due to concerns about the fairness of Bannon's trial and the application of executive privilege.
The filing also references President Trump's commutations for numerous pro-Trump rioters involved in the Capitol attack, stating that it contradicts the administration's current enforcement priorities to pursue the conviction of a former advisor to Trump who believed compliance with the subpoena was unnecessary.
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