Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon scored a major win on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Department of Justice to dismiss his 2022 contempt of Congress conviction.
The Legal Saga
Bannon was convicted after defying a Congressional subpoena issued by the now-defunct House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol. The Democrat-led panel, which included just two Republicans – anti-Trump Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – issued that subpoena in 2021, demanding both documents and testimony.
Bannon refused to comply, citing executive privilege on advice of counsel, and the House voted to hold him in contempt. The matter was then referred to the Biden DOJ, which charged him with two counts of contempt of Congress. A jury convicted Bannon in 2022, and Trump-appointed District Judge Carl Nichols sentenced him to four months in prison and a $6,500 fine.
The prison sentence was paused pending appeal. Bannon appealed the conviction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. It took 19 months for a three-judge panel to uphold the jury’s verdict in May 2024. With that, District Judge Nichols ordered Bannon to report to prison on July 1, 2024.
The Appeals Court and Supreme Court denied emergency motions to maintain the pause on Bannon’s prison sentence at the time. He served his sentence but continued to appeal his case. Now, nearly one year after leaving prison, Bannon filed a motion requesting the Supreme Court hear his case.
In February, the now Bannon-friendly DOJ filed a motion with the Supreme Court urging the high court to “remand the case to the District Court for further consideration in light of the government’s pending motion to dismiss the indictment.”
Yesterday, the Supreme Court, in an unsigned order, did just that – vacating the Appeals Court ruling and sending the case back down for reconsideration. It is not yet clear when the lower court will act on that request, but The Trump Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the case altogether.
Bannon’s attorney, Michael Buschbacher, told CNN the case “should never have been brought” and said they are “delighted that the decision affirming Mr. Bannon’s unlawful conviction has finally been vacated.”
Legal Analysis
On Tuesday’s AM Update, attorney and Article III Project founder Mike Davis explained why the Supreme Court’s decision was an important correction of a fundamentally flawed prosecution:
“The Supreme Court’s ruling today fixes this grave injustice, this grotesque violation of the separation of powers. The Supreme Court is sending this case back to the D.C. District Court Judge Carl Nichols and Judge Carl Nichols should dismiss this indictment against Steve Bannon, as if no criminal charges were ever brought. This will exonerate Steve Bannon.”
While Bannon has already served his sentence and will never be able to get that time back, Davis believes this is far from just a symbolic victory:
“This is a crucial victory for Article Two, the Constitution, the separation of powers, the presidency, because this sends a powerful message in the future that you cannot jail presidential advisors for following constitutional executive privilege going back 250 years to George Washington. This makes it clear that presidents can trust that their advisors will not get called before Congress and have to reveal their confidential, candid discussions and their advice they’re giving to the president of the United States.”
Davis shared his biggest takeaway from the order:
“The bottom line is this, the Supreme Court sent a very powerful message today to the D.C. Circuits and the D.C. District Court that the Supreme Court is done with these partisan games when it deals with constitutional executive privilege… Unfortunately, Steve Bannon already spent four months in prison. Those who did this to Steve Bannon must be held accountable.”
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