Supreme Court paves way for Steve Bannon contempt case to be dismissed

Supreme CourtSupreme Court paves way for Steve Bannon contempt case to be dismissedBannon, a Trump ally and podcaster, already served a four-month prison sentence for defying congressional subpoenas to testify about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Steve Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress in 2022 and served four months in jail.Yuki Iwamura / AFP - Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 6, 2026, 9:34 AM EDTBy Lawrence HurleyWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for the Trump administration to dismiss the criminal case against Trump ally Steve Bannon over his failure to respond to congressional subpoenas.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Although Bannon was convicted and served jail time, he and the Trump administration are now seeking to have the case thrown out after the fact, in what would be a mostly symbolic outcome.Acting on Bannon's appeal of his conviction, the court sent the case back to a district court judge in Washington, wiping out an appeals court ruling that upheld the jury verdict. In February, the Trump administration, which took over the case from the Biden administration, said it planned to dismiss the case after concluding it was "in the interests of justice." Such a move would toss out the conviction.Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with the subpoenas, which sought documents and testimony related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by President Donald Trump's supporters.Bannon already served his four-month sentence in 2024 after losing his initial appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In addition to jail time, he was fined $6,500.At the time, the Supreme Court rejected Bannon's last-ditch bid to avoid serving his sentence.Bannon's legal arguments include that he, in good faith, believe...