Steve Bannon, a MAGA-aligned podcast host, won a Supreme Court order that will likely lead to the dismissal of his criminal conviction for refusing to testify before Congress.
Bannon was convicted after defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee that investigated individuals’ involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol.
The justices threw out an appellate ruling that upheld his conviction after the Trump administration asked the court to overturn it. Bannon had asked the justices to intervene and solicitor general D. John Sauer later asked the justices to send the case back to a lower court for dismissal.
Todd Blanche, who was then the deputy attorney general, said in a previous statement that Bannon’s conviction was improper and the Justice Department would “continue to undo the prior administration’s weaponization of the justice system.”
The dismissal of Bannon’s conviction would largely be symbolic, The Associated Press noted.
He served a four-month prison term after a jury in 2022 convicted him of contempt of Congress.
The Epstein files recently released by the DOJ showed the extent of the relationship between Bannon, a former aide to President Donald Trump, and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The files showed Bannon had texted with Epstein about the financier’s legal battles and how Epstein said they could rebuild his public reputation as a philanthropist.
He has denied having a personal relationship with Epstein, saying it was merely professional and the messages should be considered with a lens that he was a member of the media that has decades of experience interviewing controversial people.
Bannon is the host of “Bannon’s War Room,” which regularly ranks among the country’s top political podcasts.
