The US Supreme Court has paved the way for Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction to be thrown out, sending the case back to a lower court where it is likely to be dismissed.

Bannon, one of Trump’s most prominent backers, was convicted in 2022 for refusing to respond to lawmakers’ subpoenas for information about the January 2021 Capitol riot.

The Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Bannon’s case in “the interests of justice”.