The Justice Department told the Supreme Court that dismissing the criminal case against Mr. Bannon was “in the interest of justice.”
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WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is seeking to overturn former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s conviction for contempt of Congress.
The Justice Department said in filings with the district court and Supreme Court that the government determined that “justice would be served by dismissing this criminal case.” The filing does not provide further details.
Bannon did not respond to a Congressional subpoena to testify about the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. President Donald Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bannon and others, including the roughly 1,600 people he pardoned on charges related to the attack, as political.
If Bannon’s lawsuit is dismissed, President Trump will no longer need to pardon him. At the end of his first term as president, Trump pardoned Bannon as he awaited trial in Manhattan on fraud charges related to another case, a border wall fundraiser.
Bannon has already completed a four-month prison sentence after being convicted in 2022 of contempt of Congress after the Supreme Court rejected his bid to remain free pending appeal in 2024.
Bannon now wants the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction.
In response to Bannon’s appeal, the Justice Department said it had asked the Supreme Court to ask the district court to overturn the conviction. Therefore, the Supreme Court should remand the case to the district court to consider dismissal, the Justice Department said.
Barbara McQuaid, a University of Michigan law professor and former U.S. attorney, said the move sounds political because there is no reason to think the conviction will be overturned in an appeals court.
“I think this is a purely political move,” McQuaid told USA TODAY. “The Trump administration continues to use the Department of Justice to reward allies and punish critics, an abhorrent abuse of the rule of law.”
Bannon said he was relying on the advice of his lawyers not to respond to a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Capitol attack until another issue – whether the former White House aide is protected by President Trump’s executive privilege claims – is resolved. This principle allows the president to keep some executive branch communications confidential.
House lawyers argued that Mr. Bannon thumbed his nose at the committee and ignored subpoenas.
The committee sought to question Bannon, Trump’s political strategist, in part because he told officials from China on Oct. 31, 2020, that even if he lost the election, Trump would falsely declare victory and there would be “massive chaos.”
Bannon said on his podcast that former Vice President Mike Pence “spit on him,” meaning he no longer supports President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The committee described the comments as increasing pressure on Pence.
Bannon called President Trump at least twice on January 5, 2021, and predicted on a right-wing talk radio show that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”
A jury found Bannon guilty of contempt of Congress, and an appeals court affirmed the conviction.
Contributor: Aisha Bagki
