Robert Weisberg, professor of criminal law at Stanford University, said some might see the court’s decision as validating the Justice Department’s approach of going after Trump’s perceived political foes and favoring his allies. But as a practical legal matter, prosecutors have wide latitude to decide when to end a prosecution.

“I very much doubt the court did it out of particular sympathy or ideological alignment with Steve Bannon,” Weisberg said. “It’s simply saying as a kind of supervisory matter: Let’s clean the court of cases the prosecution doesn’t want to pursue. I think it’s a judicial administration motivation rather than anything having to do with Bannon.”