Zippyjuan
01-17-2018, 04:16 PM
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/17/steve-bannon-to-meet-with-muellers-investigators-instead-of-testifying
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon will meet with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators, according to a person familiar with the decision.
Bannon is expected to be interviewed by prosecutors instead of testifying before a grand jury. He is expected to cooperate with the special counsel, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. It is unclear when the interview will occur.
Bannon has received a subpoena from Mueller, an AP source said.
Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, appeared before the House intelligence committee on Tuesday but refused to answer questions about his time on the Trump presidential transition team and in the White House.
It also emerged on Wednesday that Bannon’s attorney relayed questions, in real time, to the White House during the committee’s interview with the former Trump chief strategist.
The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, told reporters that this was nothing unusual. “Sometimes they actually have a White House attorney present in the room,” she said. “This time it was something that was relayed via phone and again was following standard procedure for an instance like this and something that will likely happen again on any other number of occasions, not just within this administration but future administrations.”
Asked to define what the White House is telling lawyers about the scope of executive privilege, Sanders replied: “This White House is following the same practice that many White Houses before us have that have gone back decades. There is a process that you go through any time that you have congressional inquiries touching upon the White House, that Congress should consult with the White House prior to obtaining confidential material.”
During the day-long interview on Tuesday, Bannon’s attorney Bill Burck was asking the White House counsel’s office by phone whether his client could answer the questions. He was told by that office not to discuss his work on the transition or in the White House.
It is unclear who Burck communicated with or whether it was the top White House lawyer, Don McGahn. Burck is also representing McGahn in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and senior White House aide Rick Dearborn were being interviewed on Wednesday behind closed doors by the House intelligence committee, according to AP’s sources.
Bannon left the White House in August and has had a messy falling out with Trump. Relations have collapsed since the publication of Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury, for which Bannon was extensively interviewed on the record.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon will meet with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators, according to a person familiar with the decision.
Bannon is expected to be interviewed by prosecutors instead of testifying before a grand jury. He is expected to cooperate with the special counsel, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. It is unclear when the interview will occur.
Bannon has received a subpoena from Mueller, an AP source said.
Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, appeared before the House intelligence committee on Tuesday but refused to answer questions about his time on the Trump presidential transition team and in the White House.
It also emerged on Wednesday that Bannon’s attorney relayed questions, in real time, to the White House during the committee’s interview with the former Trump chief strategist.
The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, told reporters that this was nothing unusual. “Sometimes they actually have a White House attorney present in the room,” she said. “This time it was something that was relayed via phone and again was following standard procedure for an instance like this and something that will likely happen again on any other number of occasions, not just within this administration but future administrations.”
Asked to define what the White House is telling lawyers about the scope of executive privilege, Sanders replied: “This White House is following the same practice that many White Houses before us have that have gone back decades. There is a process that you go through any time that you have congressional inquiries touching upon the White House, that Congress should consult with the White House prior to obtaining confidential material.”
During the day-long interview on Tuesday, Bannon’s attorney Bill Burck was asking the White House counsel’s office by phone whether his client could answer the questions. He was told by that office not to discuss his work on the transition or in the White House.
It is unclear who Burck communicated with or whether it was the top White House lawyer, Don McGahn. Burck is also representing McGahn in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and senior White House aide Rick Dearborn were being interviewed on Wednesday behind closed doors by the House intelligence committee, according to AP’s sources.
Bannon left the White House in August and has had a messy falling out with Trump. Relations have collapsed since the publication of Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury, for which Bannon was extensively interviewed on the record.