Trump DOJ Moves to Vacate Steve Bannon Jan. 6 Contempt Conviction

The Trump Justice Department has told the Supreme Court it will not oppose Steve Bannon’s petition challenging his 2022 contempt of Congress conviction and is instead moving to erase it, asking the justices to vacate the D.C. Circuit ruling against him and send the case back so the indictment can be dismissed. In a brief filed Monday—the day its response was due—the department said, without further explanation, that 'dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice,' and simultaneously asked the Washington, D.C., district court to throw out Bannon’s indictment. The shift comes after DOJ initially waived its right to respond to Bannon’s Supreme Court petition, a step that normally leads to summary denial, and only changed course after at least one justice requested a government response. Legal analysts note the move mirrors but goes beyond the department’s controversial bid to temporarily drop a corruption case against former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and will fuel concern among career prosecutors and watchdogs that prosecution decisions in Jan. 6–related matters are being bent to protect Trump allies. The next steps rest with the Supreme Court and the trial judge, who could scrutinize DOJ’s unexplained reversal rather than rubber‑stamp the requested dismissal.