DOJ Seeks Dismissal of Bannon Contempt Conviction

The U.S. Department of Justice filed motions on Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., and with the Supreme Court to dismiss the criminal case against Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, and to vacate his 2022 conviction for contempt of Congress. The action seeks to end the prosecution stemming from Bannon's refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro signed the motion in the district court, requesting dismissal with prejudice under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48(a). This would prevent the case from being refiled. The filing states that "the government has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice." A separate motion to the Supreme Court, prepared by Solicitor General John Sauer, asks the justices to vacate the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling upholding the conviction and to remand the case for dismissal. Bannon's attorneys do not oppose the request.

Bannon, who served as a White House chief strategist during Trump's first term in 2017,...