Donald Trump’s Department of Justice moved to dismiss a criminal case against his former aide Steve Bannon, connected to his refusal to testify before Congress relating to the investigation into the January 6 insurrection.
The controversial hard-right strategist, an ally of Trump, was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress after refusing to appear for a deposition before the House committee that investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol and declining to produce documents requested by the committee.
Federal prosecutors previously said that Bannon believed he was “above the law” by refusing to comply with the subpoena.
Bannon served four months in federal prison in 2024, after a failed attempt to force the US supreme court to reverse his sentence. He was released shortly before the 2024 presidential election, in which Trump defeated Kamala Harris.
The justice department wrote in its unopposed motion on Monday to dismiss the case: “The government has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice.”
The motion was signed by US attorney Jeanine Pirro.
Bannon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He was initially called to testify before Congress about comments that he made on his radio show the day before the 2021 insurrection, in which he said “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow”.
Pirro, nominated by Trump as the top federal prosecutor for Washington DC, asked US district judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, to dismiss the matter with prejudice. If granted, it would mean prosecutors are barred from refiling the case.
The move by Trump’s justice department is the latest in a series of motions to eliminate criminal cases associated with January 6. Shortly after taking office last year, Trump pardoned over 1,000 rioters who were charged with crimes for their participation in the insurrection.
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