The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated the contempt of Congress conviction against Steve Bannon, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, and sent the case back to a lower court for further review. The decision opens the door for the Trump administration to dismiss the criminal case against Bannon, who was convicted in 2022 for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee.
Bannon served four months in federal prison in 2024 after being found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress. He argued that he was acting in good faith by invoking executive privilege, which he claimed protected his communications with Trump regarding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion. The Supreme Court's action vacates a previous ruling by a federal appeals court that had upheld Bannon's conviction.
In February, the Trump administration, which took over the case from the Biden administration, filed a motion to dismiss the charges, citing "the interests of justice." If the lower court agrees, Bannon's conviction would be thrown out, though he has already completed his sentence. The case now returns to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which must reconsider the matter in light of the Supreme Court's decision.
Bannon's legal team argued that he was not given the opportunity to present his executive privilege defense at trial, a key factor in the Supreme Court's decision to vacate the conviction. The high court did not rule on the merits of the case but instead sent it back for further review, leaving open the possibility that the charges could be dismissed entirely.
The case has drawn significant attention due to its political implications, as Bannon is a prominent figure in conservative circles and a vocal critic of the Biden administration. The Supreme Court's decision comes amid broader debates over executive privilege and the limits of congressional subpoena power.