US Supreme Court clears way for dismissal of case against Trump ally Steve Bannon

WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court cleared the way on April 6 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.

The justices threw out a lower court’s decision to uphold Bannon’s 2022 conviction for refusing to turn over documents or testify to a congressional panel that investigated the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.

Mr 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 June 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.

The Justice Department declined to comment on April 6.

The Supreme Court, in a brief unsigned order, returned the case to a the lower court for further consideration “in light of the pending motion to dismiss the indictment.”

Bannon was convicted by a jury in Washington on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents or testimony to a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee investigating the Capitol attack.

The rioters had tried to prevent congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory over Mr Trump in the Republican president’s unsuccessful 2020 reelection bid.

Bannon called the House committee’s probe and the charges brought against him by the Justice Department during Biden’s presidency politically motivated.

Bannon, 72, served as a key adviser to Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and his chief White House strategist in 2017 during Mr Trump’s first term in office before a falling out between them that was later patched up.

At the sentencing hearing in the case, prosecutor JP Cooney said that Bannon chose to “thumb his nose at Congress.”

Bannon “is not above the law, and that’s what makes this case important,” Mr Cooney said.

Bannon was released from prison a week before Mr 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 Mr 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.

Bannon, in demand for public appearances as a prominent figure on the right, spoke in Texas in March, for instance, at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

According to the House committee, Bannon spoke with Mr Trump at least twice on the day before the Jan 6 attack, attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel, and said on his podcast that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2024 Bannon’s conviction, prompting his appeal to the Supreme Court.

Lawyers for Bannon have 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.

Bannon has faced other legal issues as well. Bannon pleaded guilty in New York state court in February 2025 to a fraud charge after being accused by prosecutors of deceiving donors in 2019 in a private fundraising drive to support Trump’s wall along the US-Mexico border. Bannon avoided jail time in that case.

Mr Trump in 2021 pardoned Bannon after he was indicted on federal charges also relating to the border wall fundraising. REUTERS