Critics slam DOJ moves to dismiss convictions of Trump allies
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Critics → slam → allies
The Biden-era Justice Department portrayed the contempt of Congress case against Steve Bannon as open and shut.
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Department → portray → Bannon
Bannon declined to cooperate with the House committee that investigated the siege on the U.S. Capitol, flouting a subpoena and refusing to show up for an interview.
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that → decline → interview
A trial jury in Washington, D.C., deliberated for less than three hours before delivering a guilty verdict.
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jury → deliberate → verdict
A federal appeals court upheld that verdict.
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court → uphold → verdict
Now, four years later, the DOJ is asking a court to drop the case and erase the conviction "in the interests of justice."
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DOJ → ask → justice
Bannon's lawyers do not oppose the move.
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lawyers → oppose → move
Legal experts said it follows a pattern where the Justice Department is helping to wipe the slate clean for allies of President Trump—with no one defending the cases, and without courts hearing arguments to the contrary.
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courts → say → contrary
That violates the U.S. legal system's tradition of hearing views from opposing parties and comes as the Justice Department has also pursued investigations of Trump's perceived enemies.
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Department → violate → enemies
"No adversity remains in this serious and high-profile criminal matter between, on the one hand, the U.S. Department of Justice overtly acting at the behest of the president of the United States, and on the other hand, Bannon, the defendant, who is a close political ally and adviser to the same president," said Bruce Searby, a defense attorney in Washington and a former federal prosecutor.
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Searby → remain → Washington
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment about its decision to walk away from the conviction and the lack of adversity, or truly opposing parties, in the case.
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Department → respond → case
Bannon's lawyers did not return messages seeking comment.
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lawyers → return → comment
Searby first noticed the issue in April, when the DOJ asked to vacate the convictions of about a dozen leaders and deputies of the far-right Oath Keepers and Proud Boys groups.
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DOJ → notice → groups
Those seditious conspiracy trials took months to unfold, as juries heard details about how some of those extremists gathered weapons, recruited followers and even breached the Capitol in the worst attack since the War of 1812.
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some → take → 1812
Trump pardoned the vast majority of Jan. 6, 2021, defendants on his first day back in office, calling them "patriots."
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Trump → pardon → them
In a recent interview with the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes, Trump took credit for those pardons.
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Trump → take → pardons
"I don't think any group's been treated more unfairly than them, and to this day, when they see me they cry," he said.
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he → think → me
The administration took another route in seeking to drop the cases of more senior members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys—telling judges the move was in "the interests of justice."
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move → take → justice
That was the same rationale it went on to use in the Bannon case.
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it → go → case
Lawyers for Representative Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who served on the House Select Committee investigating the events of January 6, told a federal appeals court last spring this was not an ordinary set of cases—and that it should exercise its power to appoint a friend of the court, or amicus, to defend the convictions.
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it → serve → convictions
"The established path forward is for this Court to appoint an amicus to present opposing argument and defend the judgment being ambushed," wrote attorneys Justin Sher and Douglas Jensen.
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Sher → establish → judgment
Their court filing said judges have authority to take that step.
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judges → say → step
And they pointed out two other controversial times that judges named outside lawyers to evaluate a bid to dismiss criminal charges: one in the case of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn; and another in the case of former New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
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judges → point → Adams
Ultimately, judges reluctantly dismissed the Jan. 6 charges without appointing a friend of the court.
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judges → dismiss → court
"Today's epilogue diminishes the gravity of that day, denigrates the work of the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who secured these convictions, and excuses criminal acts that caused a centuries-long pillar of our democracy—the peaceful transfer of presidential power—to buckle," wrote U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.
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Mehta → diminish → power
Leeway for prosecutors
Now, the issue has resurfaced in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who presided over Steve Bannon's trial in 2022.
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who → resurface → 2022
In a court filing last week, DOJ said it would exercise its prosecutorial discretion to dismiss Bannon's indictment.
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it → say → indictment
Courts have recognized wide leeway for prosecutors in making decisions about their resources.
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Courts → recognize → resources
Deputy Associate Attorney General Michael Weisbuch wrote it was not appropriate to pursue the contempt case against Bannon because Bannon said he believed he was protected by executive privilege.
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he → write → privilege
Weisbuch said the judge lacked authority to reject the unopposed motion to dismiss.
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judge → say → motion
"But even assuming any review could be proper, the policy-laden grounds for dismissal asserted above are not susceptible to judicial second-guessing," he added.
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he → assume → guessing
Searby, the former prosecutor, said the judge should not accept the DOJ argument "at face value" and dismissing the case should not be a "foregone conclusion."
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dismissing → say → case
An outside lawyer, he said, could assess whether the Justice Department's actions amount to an abuse of prosecutorial discretion: if they are taken in bad faith, tainted with impropriety or contrary to public interest.
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they → say → interest
Critics and good government groups said the Trump administration has been exploiting the legal system, which is designed to hear views from two opposing parties.
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which → say → parties
The president famously sued his own government over the leak of his tax returns, and then negotiated a settlement with the Justice Department that handed him and his sons immunity from tax audits.
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that → sue → audits
Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as a defense attorney for Trump, confronted serious questions about that deal and his sign-off during a confirmation battle in August.
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who → serve → August
The Senate went on to approve his nomination by a single vote.
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Senate → go → vote
The Aporia
