The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a federal appeals court decision that upheld Steve Bannon's 2022 conviction for contempt of Congress and remanded the case to a lower court in light of the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the indictment.

The brief unsigned order, issued without noted dissents, clears the way for dismissal of the charges against the longtime Trump ally. Bannon was convicted on two counts of defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He had refused to produce documents or testify, citing former President Donald Trump's assertion of executive privilege.

Bannon, who served as White House chief strategist early in Trump's first term before being fired in 2017, argued that he acted in good faith based on legal advice that the privilege shielded his compliance. A Washington jury rejected that defense in July 2022, sentencing him to four months in prison and a $6,500 fine. He served the term at a low-security facility in Danbury, Connecticut, from July to October 2024 after the Supreme Court denied his request to remain free pending appeal.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the conviction in May 2024. Bannon petitioned the Supreme Court in October 2025, raising issues including whether a good-faith but mistaken claim of executive privilege constitutes willful defiance under the contempt statute and whether the committee's composition invalidated the subpoena.

The Justice Department shifted position after Trump returned to office for his second term. In February 2026, Solicitor General D. John Sauer informed the justices that dismissal was "in the interests of justice." U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia filed a motion in district court to dismiss the indictment with prejudice, preventing refiling.

The Supreme Court's action responds to the government's request to vacate the appeals court judgment and return the case for handling the dismissal motion. While Bannon has completed his sentence, erasing the conviction carries symbolic weight, aligning with the Trump administration's review of cases tied to the January 6 probe.

Bannon faces separate legal matters, including a 2025 New York state guilty plea to fraud charges over a border wall fundraising effort, for which he avoided additional jail time following a 2021 Trump pardon on related federal counts.