The U.S. Supreme Court teed up a likely dismissal of Democrats’ lawfare against former Trump adviser Steve Bannon on Monday.
In its newest order list, the high court vacated a May 2024 decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a 2022 criminal conviction of Bannon. The conservative commentator was previously charged by the Biden Justice Department with contempt of Congress after ignoring a subpoena from the discredited House Select Committee on Jan. 6. Bannon reportedly argued that his testimony was protected by the president’s invocation of executive privilege.
As The Federalist reported, Bannon was sentenced to four months in federal prison following his conviction. He was ultimately released in October 2024.
In addition to vacating the D.C. Appeals Court’s decision, the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the appellate court “for further consideration in light of the pending motion to dismiss the indictment.” As noted by The Daily Caller, the Trump administration “filed a motion to dismiss the case against Bannon in February.”
The high court’s order “frees a trial judge to act” on the Trump administration’s request for dismissal, according to the left-wing Associated Press.
In their petition to SCOTUS, Bannon’s attorneys argued that the case was worthy of consideration “because it raises serious separation-of-powers concerns, and [the Supreme Court] has repeatedly granted review to address committee authority and whether certain objections must be presented to the committee for purposes of [federal law].”
“‘Because the questions presented in this petition are vital to individual liberty and implicate the separation of powers between Congress and the Executive,’ this Court should grant review on both questions presented,” the petition reads.
Bannon was one of several Republican-aligned figures that the Biden administration targeted with lawfare in the years following Trump’s departure from office.
The Biden DOJ also notably charged longtime Trump adviser Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress after he declined a subpoena to testify before the J6 Committee. Like Bannon, Navarro was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison.
[READ: Democrat Lawfare Came For Me, And It Can Come For You Too]
The Democrats’ lawfare machine also targeted Jeff Clark, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, and many others in the years after Joe Biden took office.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
