WASHINGTON ? The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the likely dismissal of Steve Bannon's criminal contempt of Congress conviction, vacating a lower-court ruling that had upheld the case against him and returning it to the appellate court for further action.

In its report on the order, The Associated Press said the move followed a request from the Trump administration and would allow a trial judge to consider dismissing Bannon's conviction and indictment in the interests of justice.

The legal posture of the case is summarized on SCOTUSblog's case page, which notes that the justices granted review, vacated the judgment and remanded the case in light of the pending motion to dismiss the indictment.

The ruling marks a sharp reversal from the court path Bannon had been on less than two years ago, when AP reported that a federal appeals court upheld his conviction for defying the House committee subpoena tied to the Jan. 6 Capitol investigation.

Bannon already served his four-month prison sentence, so the order is largely about the legal status of the conviction itself rather than any immediate question of custody.