<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A federal judge on August 26, 2026, blocked the Justice Department's attempt to dismiss Steve Bannon's criminal conviction, stating that the department did not provide sufficient support for its case for dismissal.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by President Donald Trump, declined the DOJ’s request to dismiss Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction. Bannon was a senior adviser to Trump during his first term before leaving the White House. The relationship between Trump and Bannon has been tumultuous, particularly as the DOJ sought to dismiss the conviction.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While Nichols declined the DOJ’s request, he did so “without prejudice,” allowing the government another opportunity to revise its argument and present it again to the court. Nichols noted that the brief request filed by the DOJ lacked the necessary motivations for dismissing the indictment against Bannon.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This decision follows a jury's conviction of Bannon on contempt of Congress charges in 2022, after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the now-defunct House Jan. 6 committee. Bannon served a brief period in prison in 2024 after being found in contempt of Congress.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Bannon has claimed he did not violate the law, citing Trump’s assertion of executive privilege and his reliance on legal advice when he declined to provide testimony or documents to the committee. Bannon played a significant role in Trump’s 2016 campaign and his first presidential victory, but their relationship has since deteriorated.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, an ally of Trump at the DOJ, moved in February to dismiss Bannon’s indictment. Her office's court filing was vague, stating that it determined “in its prosecutorial discretion” that dismissing Bannon’s criminal case was “in the interests of justice.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The case was assigned to Nichols after the Supreme Court vacated the contempt of Congress charges against Bannon in April and returned the case to the lower court for dismissal.</p>