By Biden’s weaponization of the government against conservative activists is finally starting to crumble. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the Trump administration’s Department of Justice to move toward dismissing Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction, vacating the 2022 ruling and returning the case to a lower court.
Bannon, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump and host of a prominent MAGA podcast, had been convicted for defying a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He has already served a four-month prison sentence but continued to pursue appeals in an effort to overturn the conviction.
The Court’s action sets aside prior lower court decisions that upheld the guilty verdict and sends the case back to federal district court, where prosecutors under Trump’s Justice Department have asked that the charges be dismissed.
“It’s not uncommon for the Supreme Court to drop a case when that happens,” the USA Today noted.
In filings before the Court, the administration argued that “dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice.”
Bannon was found guilty in 2022 after refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena. He contended that he had relied on legal advice and believed President Trump could invoke executive privilege to prevent his testimony. Bannon maintained he acted in good faith and did not “willfully” violate the law, while also challenging the subpoena’s legal validity.
Lawyers for the House committee argued that Bannon had simply ignored its demands.
The committee sought Bannon’s testimony in part because of his role as a political strategist during Trump’s 2016 campaign and his continued involvement in the president’s orbit. According to records cited by investigators, Bannon told associates on October 31, 2020, that Trump planned to declare victory regardless of the election outcome, describing the anticipated fallout as a “firestorm.”
He also spoke with Trump by phone at least twice on January 5, 2021, and said on a right-wing radio program that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.” On his podcast, Bannon remarked that then-Vice President Mike Pence had “spit the bit,” a statement the committee viewed as contributing to pressure on Pence as efforts unfolded to challenge the 2020 election results.
Bannon had previously received a presidential pardon from Trump near the end of his first term in a separate federal case involving fraud allegations tied to the “We Build the Wall” crowdfunding campaign.
Trump has repeatedly characterized the prosecution of Bannon and other associates as politically motivated. Since returning to office, he has issued pardons to roughly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the January 6 events.
The Supreme Court had ruled in 2024 that Bannon must begin serving his sentence while his appeals moved forward. With the conviction now vacated and the case poised for dismissal, the legal fight over the contempt charge appears to be nearing its end.
With the conviction set aside, Steve Bannon emerges as arguably strengthened. The collapse of the case lends weight to his long-running argument that he was targeted for political reasons, a narrative that resonates with much of the Republican base. At the same time, it clears a path for his continued involvement in shaping the movement’s future—whether behind the scenes or, as some allies have suggested, in pursuit of higher office himself.
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