被总统任命为联邦法官的美国地区法官卡尔·尼科尔斯唐纳德·特朗普2019年，检察官未能遵守当地的规定，要求他们解释驳回对班农起诉的动机。
在特朗普第一个任期内担任特朗普首席白宫策略师的班农是2022年被定罪两项藐视国会罪，原因是藐视国会委员会的传票，该委员会调查了2021年1月6日对国会大厦的袭击。2024年他在监狱服刑4个月。
今年2月，在特朗普盟友珍妮·皮尔罗（Jeanine Pirro）的领导下，华盛顿美国检察官办公室在班农寻求向最高法院上诉时，驳回了对他的起诉。
最高法院在四月撤销指控并将案件退回下级法院驳回。
尼科尔斯周三的裁决指出，他拒绝DOJ的驳回请求是“没有偏见的”，这意味着他将再次给检察官一个机会，为为什么班农的案件应该被驳回提供更全面的解释。
Judge declines to dismiss Steve Bannon＇s criminal contempt conviction
A federal judge in Washington， D．C．， declined a request from the Justice Department to dismiss thecontempt of Congress convictionfor Trump ally Steve Bannon， telling prosecutors in a ruling Wednesday that they will need to come back with a better explanation if they want to clear Bannon＇s record．
U．S． District Judge Carl Nichols， who was appointed to the federal bench by PresidentDonald Trumpin 2019， faulted prosecutors for failing to comply with local rules that requires them to explain their motivations for dismissing the indictment against Bannon．
Bannon， who served as Trump＇s chief White House strategist during Trump＇s first term， wasconvicted in 2022on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the congressional committee that investigated the Jan． 6， 2021， attack on the Capitol． He served four months in prison in 2024．
In February， the U．S． attorney＇s office in Washington， under the leadership of Trump ally Jeanine Pirro， moved to dismiss Bannon＇s indictment while he was seeking to appeal his conviction before the Supreme Court．
The Supreme Court in Aprilvacated the chargesagainst Bannon and returned the case to a lower court for dismissal．
Nichols＇ ruling Wednesday notes that his denial of the DOJ＇s request for dismissal is ＂without prejudice，＂ meaning he will give prosecutors another shot to offer a fuller explanation for why the case against Bannon should be dismissed．
