Trump's DOJ asks a judge, again, to erase Steve Bannon's contempt conviction
A jury convicted him of defying the Jan. 6 committee's subpoena, and he served four months. A judge rejected DOJ's first try in August.
Trump's Justice Department asked a federal judge on Thursday, Nov. 5, to wipe out Steve Bannon's conviction for contempt of Congress. It's the department's second try. In August, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., turned down its first request, finding prosecutors hadn't adequately explained why they wanted the case dropped.
A jury convicted Bannon in 2022 on two counts of contempt for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He served four months in prison in 2024. A federal appeals court upheld the verdict, but the Supreme Court later sent the case back to Nichols and wiped out that ruling.
What the Justice Department claims
The new motion was signed by Deputy Associate Attorney General Michael Weisbuch, NBC News reported. It calls dropping the case an "exercise of its prosecutorial discretion," according to ABC News, and makes three main arguments:
- The administration doesn't think it's appropriate to prosecute a former presidential adviser who refused a subpoena because he believed executive privilege protected him.
- It "harbors significant doubts" about the fairness of Bannon's trial.
- Defending the conviction "is inconsistent with this Administration's enforcement priorities."
"In these circumstances, the United States no longer wishes to pursue this prosecution," the filing says, as quoted by ABC News.
The department offered no new evidence about the trial in the reports we reviewed. The record so far: a jury found Bannon guilty, and an appeals court upheld that verdict before the Supreme Court sent it back.
Bannon's lawyers did not oppose the motion. NBC News noted that R. Trent McCotter, now the acting deputy attorney general, once represented Bannon; his name is not on the filing. The motion also points to President Trump's "grave concerns" about Biden-era Jan. 6 prosecutions. Trump pardoned hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants on his first day back in office.
Why it matters
A congressional subpoena is how Congress forces officials to answer questions and hand over records. Democrats just won control of both chambers, and Rep. Jamie Raskin said Thursday he plans to investigate the administration. The Justice Department, which decides whether to prosecute people who defy those subpoenas, is now asking a court to erase the last conviction of someone who did.
What's next
Nichols, a Trump appointee, has not ruled. No hearing date has been reported.
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