Federal charges against Steve Bannon officially dismissed

A federal judge granted Stephen Bannon's motion to dismiss the case against him on Tuesday following then-President Donald Trump's pardon. 

"For the reasons stated above, Bannon’s motion is GRANTED and the Indictment is DISMISSED as to him, pursuant to paragraph one of the Pardon," Judge Analisa Torres declared in a filing. 

But Torres also pointed out that a pardon implies guilt. 

"If there be no guilt, there is no ground for forgiveness," she wrote. "It is an appeal to executive clemency. It is asked as a matter of favor to the guilty. It is granted not of right but of grace. A party is acquitted on the ground of innocence; he is pardoned through favor."

Bannon and three other defendants were indicted about a year ago as federal prosecutors accused them of defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in a $25 million "We Build the Wall" crowdfunding campaign. The Department of Justice said they were using the false pretense that all the money would be spent on the construction of the border wall between Mexico and the U.S. 

The four defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. They all pleaded "not guilty" to the charges.  

But on Jan. 19,  just before leaving office, President Trump granted Bannon a "full and unconditional pardon." 

The indictment had not been formally dismissed until now and, while Bannon had asked the court to dismiss it, prosecutors had wanted it to be administratively closed. Some legal experts have said that there is a loophole because the pardon only concerns the current indictment, meaning that he could still be prosecuted on other charges.