Former Donald Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon was interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller for 20 hours over the course of multiple days this week as part of the investigation into the possible collusion between the president’s campaign and Russia, as well as other issues tied to that investigation.
NBC News reports that in addition to meeting with Mueller’s team, Bannon also returned to Capitol Hill this week to testify in front of the House Intelligence Committee—after weeks of stalling that committee. Bannon was asked specific questions that had been negotiated between the White House and the House’s lead counsel.
Bannon had been subpoenaed by the committee on Jan. 16 but managed to postpone the subpoena deadline three times as the White House and House lawyers negotiated which questions he could answer without the White House invoking executive privilege to prevent him from testifying.
Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff of California, ranking member of the committee, told reporters: “The only questions he would answer were questions that had been scripted, literally scripted for him by the White House. Whenever we sought to probe anything beyond the four corners of the specific wording of the question, he refused to answer. That’s not how executive privilege works.”
On Thursday, lawmakers said that continued noncooperation on Bannon’s part could result in the committee taking steps to hold him in contempt of Congress.
The claims of executive privilege will be looked into by committee member Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), who said that he will work with House Speaker Paul Ryan and House lawyers to determine whether contempt proceedings would be appropriate.
So the White House was able to script what Bannon told the House Intelligence Committee, but it wasn’t able to do that for Bannon’s meetings with Mueller.
Which leaves us to wonder what Bannon may have told Mueller. Did he roll over on his former friend and boss? The way he slobbered on the mic for Michael Wolff for the freeski would lead one to believe that under fear of some type of legal recourse against him, he may have done the same with Mueller.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that.
I need Mueller to drop the bomb already. We’ve been waiting long enough. Yes, I want the investigation to be thorough and to yield the type of fruit that might help us get Trump out of here, but I also want them to hurry the hell up.
Enough is enough.
So, what do you think Bannon spilled the beans on? Let me know in the comments.