Bannon, an ally of US President Donald Trump, was convicted in 2022 of contempt of Congress and sentenced to four months in prison, which he served.
Published April 6, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court clears the way for the Justice Department to dismiss a criminal case against Steve Bannon, a key ally of President Donald Trump, who was convicted of refusing to testify or provide documents to Congress despite being subpoenaed.
The department’s request to drop Mr. Bannon’s case was one of several actions the department has taken since Trump returned to office last year that have benefited the Republican president’s allies and supporters.
Bannon was convicted in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to submit documents or testify to a House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, and was sentenced to four months in prison.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s decision, telling the justices in court documents that it determined it was “in the interests of justice” to dismiss Bannon’s case. The department had already filed a motion to dismiss the case at the trial court level.
Bannon’s lawyer, Evan Corcoran, welcomed Monday’s Supreme Court action.
“Today, after five years of battle after battle, the Supreme Court vacated a wrongful conviction and in doing so vindicated the basic rule that, like water and oil, politics and prosecution do not mix,” Corcoran said.
Bannon’s conviction would be erased from his record if he was removed from office, but it would have little practical effect because he has already served his sentence.
Who is Steve Bannon?
Mr. Bannon, 72, served as a key adviser to President Donald Trump during his first term in the 2016 presidential campaign and served as the president’s chief strategist in 2017, but the two sides had a falling out that was later repaired.
Bannon was released a week before Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Mr. Bannon imprisoned himself as a political prisoner and told reporters after his release, “I’m not broken yet. I gained strength from my four months at the Danbury Federal Penitentiary.”
Bannon has resumed hosting the podcast “War Room.”
Mr. Bannon, a firebrand, helped articulate the “America First” right-wing populism and staunch opposition to immigration that have characterized Trump’s presidency.
Mr. Bannon has played a prominent role in right-wing media, promoting right-wing causes and candidates both in the United States and abroad.
Mr. Bannon’s lawyers have raised a variety of legal arguments to challenge the subpoenas, including questions about executive privilege, legal principles that keep certain communications secret from the president, and the power of congressional committees to issue subpoenas.
President Trump also pardoned a number of people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, as well as several political allies facing other criminal charges related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election he lost to former President Joe Biden.
