Judge, for now, refuses to dismiss Steve Bannon’s conviction in contempt of Congress case

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Justice Department’s request to erase Trump ally Steve Bannon’s criminal conviction for refusing to testify before the congressional committee that investigated a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. But it may not be a final decision on the matter.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled that prosecutors failed to properly explain their motivations for seeking the dismissal of Bannon’s indictment. However, the judge said the government is free to renew its request in a manner that follows the law.

Nichols ruled several months after the U.S. Supreme Court — at prosecutors’ request — threw out an appellate ruling upholding Bannon’s conviction for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Capitol riot.

In a February court filing, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her Washington-based office determined “in its prosecutorial discretion” that dismissing Bannon’s criminal case is “in the interests of justice.” Pirro, a Trump appointee, didn’t elaborate.

Dismissing the case would be largely symbolic. Bannon already served a four-month prison term after a jury convicted him of contempt of Congress in 2022. A federal appeals court in Washington upheld the conviction before the Supreme Court overruled its decision.

Trump, a Republican, appointed Nichols to the bench during his first term in the White House.