DOJ asks judge to toss Jan. 6 contempt case against Steve Bannon
The Department of Justice on Monday asked a federal judge to throw out the criminal case against Steve Bannon for defying a congressional subpoena related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Bannon, who served as President Donald Trump's chief White House strategist during Trump's first term, served a four-month prison term after being found guilty on contempt charges following a 2022 trial.
In a court filing Monday, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who was appointed by President Trump in 2025, argued it was "in the interests of justice" to dismiss the indictment against Bannon.
"The government has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice. Defendant Bannon does not oppose this motion," said the filing, which was signed by Pirro alone, not a career prosecutor.
A jury found Bannon guilty in July 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to testify about Jan. 6 before the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack. In addition to serving prison time, Bannon paid a $6,500 fine.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer, in a court filing Monday, argued that Bannon had been targeted by "a putative congressional committee."
"Today the Department of Justice told the Supreme Court that Steve Bannon's conviction arising from the J6 'Unselect' Committee's improper subpoena should be vacated," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "Under the leadership of Attorney General [Pam] Bondi, this Department will continue to undo the prior administration’s weaponization of the justice system."
Before reporting to prison, Bannon told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl that he had "no regrets" about defying the committee's subpoena.
"If it took me going to prison to finally get the House to start to move, to start to delegitimize the illegitimate J6 committee, then, hey, guess what, my going to prison is worth it," he said at the time.
Following a yearlong investigation, the committee determined that Trump was the "central cause" of the Jan. 6 attack, writing in its report that "None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him."
