Steve Bannon, a prominent conservative media figure and former adviser to Donald Trump, could soon see his criminal conviction for contempt of Congress dismissed after a new development at the U.S. Supreme Court. The court issued a brief order vacating a lower court ruling that had upheld Bannon’s conviction and returned the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for reconsideration.
The Supreme Court’s move follows a request from the Trump administration to dismiss the charges against Bannon. The order directs the appeals court to review the case again in light of a pending motion seeking to drop the indictment entirely. Legal observers say the step increases the likelihood that the conviction may ultimately be overturned.
Bannon was originally convicted by a federal jury in Washington, D.C., on two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He later served a four-month prison sentence in 2024 after an appeals court upheld the verdict.
His legal team argued that his refusal to testify was based on guidance from attorneys and raised constitutional concerns related to executive privilege and separation of powers. They also challenged how courts interpreted the legal meaning of willfully refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena, suggesting that the standard had been applied too broadly.
In filings before the Supreme Court, the Trump administration stated that dismissing the case would be consistent with the interests of justice and within prosecutorial discretion. Although Bannon has already completed his prison sentence, a dismissal of the conviction would still represent a significant legal and symbolic outcome for the longtime political strategist and media personality.
