Justice Department moves to toss Steve Bannon’s conviction tied to Congress’ Jan. 6 investigation

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Thursday to vacate the conviction of Steve Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress in connection with its investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Bannon, a White House chief strategist and senior counselor during President Donald Trump’s first term, served a four-month prison sentence after the conviction in 2022.

The Justice Department wrote in a court filing Thursday that it had determined “dismissal is in the interests of justice because, in an exercise of its prosecutorial discretion, the Executive Branch does not believe that it is appropriate to pursue contempt of Congress charges against a former advisor to the President who did not comply with a subpoena investigating the events of January 6, 2021, based on an asserted belief that he was protected by executive privilege.”

The administration “harbors significant doubts” about the trial’s fairness, it said in the motion, which was signed by Deputy Associate Attorney General Michael Weisbuch.

“President Trump has expressed grave concerns about the Biden Administration’s prosecutions related to the events of January 6, 2021, granting a large number of pardons and commutations,” the motion said.

The Justice Department filing added that in light of Trump’s actions, seeking to affirm Bannon’s conviction “is inconsistent with this Administration’s enforcement priorities.”

Bannon’s legal team did not oppose the motion.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols previously denied a motion to dismiss the indictment, saying in August that the government had not adequately described why it wanted to do so.

The Supreme Court had sent the case back to Nichols, wiping out an appeals court ruling that upheld the jury’s verdict.

Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter previously served as Bannon’s counsel. His name does not appear on the Justice Department’s court filing.

Trump had pardoned hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants on his first day back in office.