Double jeopardy laws, of course, prevent someone from being prosecuted twice for the same crime.

But there's a curious reason why Bannon can't raise the double jeopardy defense before his upcoming state court trial and make the case disappear: New Yorkers saw this coming.

"The law changed in New York, specifically because Trump started handing out pardons. New York State took the position that these people need to be answerable to crimes they committed in New York State," explained Diane Peress, an adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

It all comes down to the way former federal prosecutor Todd Kaminsky, then a Long Island state senator, noticed how Trump was "corruptly using the pardon power" to shield himself by saving his powerful friends.