“CLEAR MY RECORD”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS SOUGHT TO DISMISS STEVE BANNON’S CONTEMPT INDICTMENT… BUT A FEDERAL JUDGE RULED THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FAILED TO PROPERLY EXPLAIN ITS REQUEST.
A federal judge has declined an attempt by the Justice Department to clear Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress case.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected the government’s request on Wednesday to dismiss the indictment against Bannon.
President Donald Trump appointed Nichols to the federal bench in 2019.
Nichols said prosecutors failed to comply with local court rules.
Those local rules require the government to adequately explain its reasons whenever it seeks a dismissal.
Bannon served as Trump’s White House chief strategist.
In 2022, Bannon was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress.
That conviction followed his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
He served four months in federal prison in 2024.
In February, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington moved to dismiss Bannon’s indictment.
Trump ally Jeanine Pirro led that office at the time of the filing.
The government made its move while Bannon was pursuing an appeal.
Then, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment in April.
The high court sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings consistent with its order.
Yet Nichols denied the Justice Department’s latest dismissal request without prejudice.
The denial without prejudice leaves prosecutors free to try again.
They must provide an adequate explanation for the request.
They must follow the court rules.
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