Judge Refuses to Toss Bannon's Contempt Conviction

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to erase Steve Bannon's criminal conviction for defying the January 6 committee, ruling that the Justice Department never explained why it wants the case thrown out.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, said the one-page motion signed by Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro was "insufficient to justify" tossing the case.

The denial is not final. Nichols rejected the motion without prejudice, leaving the DOJ free to come back with a filing that actually articulates its reasoning.

What the judge said

Pirro's motion, filed in February, offered a single sentence of justification: "The government has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice."

Nichols called that a conclusory statement of the kind courts have repeatedly found insufficient under the federal rules. He wrote that the Justice Department will need to try again and spell out exactly why the government wants to abandon the prosecution.

Per Wire reporting on the ruling, Nichols also flagged a 2025 appeals court decision that may bar dismissal outright until Bannon's judgment is formally vacated — a question prosecutors would have to answer in any new motion.