Bannon refused to testify about Jan. 6, went to prison, and now the Justice Department is backing off

The Justice Department has moved to dismiss the criminal case against Steve Bannon, ending a prosecution tied to his refusal to testify before the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The development was reported by NBC News and marks a sharp reversal in a case that resulted in Bannon serving time in federal prison.

Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress after declining to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. He ultimately served four months in federal prison in 2024, after his appeals failed and the conviction remained intact.

Although Bannon has already completed his sentence, the Justice Department’s move could wipe the conviction from his record entirely. While the practical impact is limited, given that he has already served his time, vacating the judgment would formally erase the guilty verdict.

The government is now challenging the basis of the original subpoena

Bannon’s legal troubles began in 2021 when the House voted to hold him in contempt for refusing to appear for a deposition or provide documents, a fight not unlike the recent reporting on Ghislaine Maxwell’s cooperation offer, where federal cooperation strategies have made headlines. The committee sought testimony related to his public comments the day before the riot, including his statement that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.” Bannon argued that President Trump had asserted executive privilege, which he said barred his cooperation.

After his conviction, Bannon pursued multiple appeals, all of which were rejected, leaving the sentence in place. He served his prison term while continuing to challenge the legality of the subpoena that led to the charges. Coverage of Trump-era policy impacts on consumers shows how legal and political developments continue to intersect.

That argument has now been adopted by the Justice Department. In a filing submitted Monday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche described the subpoena as “improper” and said Bannon’s conviction should be vacated. Prosecutors filed an unopposed motion to dismiss the case, stating that doing so would be “in the interests of justice.”

The move came as Bannon was seeking Supreme Court review of his conviction. His petition had been pending, and the administration’s response was due this week. Instead of addressing the appeal directly, Solicitor General John D. Sauer asked the court to vacate the judgment and return the case to a lower court for dismissal.

Separately, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro filed a request in the district court to dismiss the case, noting that Bannon did not oppose the motion. If approved, the dismissal would formally close the case and remove the conviction from the record.

When Bannon was convicted in 2022, Jan. 6 committee leaders Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney said he had chosen loyalty to Donald Trump over compliance with the law, framing the verdict as a warning to others who might obstruct the investigation.

Bannon, who managed Trump’s 2016 campaign and later served as a senior White House strategist before launching a political podcast, has remained a close ally of the former president, and the Justice Department’s filing signals the end of this prosecution.