The Justice Department is seeking to erase the criminal conviction of longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon for defying a 2021 subpoena from congressional investigators probing his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

In a motion signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro — and without the signature of any career prosecutors — the Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to dismiss the two-count indictment that DOJ brought against Bannon more than four years ago. Nichols, a Trump appointee, presided over a week-long jury trial of Bannon in 2022 that resulted in his conviction on criminal contempt charges.

Federal prosecutors brought those charges in November 2021 after the Democratic-led House voted to hold Bannon in contempt. The Jan. 6 select committee, convened that year by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, had subpoenaed Bannon to describe his contacts with key organizers of the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol that day. They also hoped to learn details about his contacts with President Donald Trump in his effort to subvert the results of the 2020 election.

The end of the case is, in some ways, symbolic. Bannon already served a four-month prison sentence in 2024 for his conviction on the charges. But he has appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court, which was awaiting a response from the Justice Department before Monday’s move by Pirro. If Nichols grants the motion to dismiss, it would likely end the pending Supreme Court case and erase Bannon’s jury conviction.

Solicitor General John Sauer confirmed this goal in a brief filing to the justices Monday.

Kyle Cheney
‪@kyledcheney.bsky.social‬

JUST IN: DOJ is trying to help Steve Bannon erase his conviction for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. Motion has no career prosecutor on it, just signed by US Attorney Pirro.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.237437/gov.uscourts.dcd.237437.207.0.pdf