Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, is unlikely to appear for questioning on Tuesday before the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia meddling probe, despite a subpoena to do so, according to congressional sources.
Defying the subpoena could result in contempt of Congress charges for the former media mogul. Mr. Bannon had a very public fall from grace early this year after being quoted extensively in Michael Wolff’s tell-all book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”
Last month, the House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to force Mr. Bannon to return and answer questions after a contentious 12-hour appearance before the panel. Lawmakers were enraged because the combative strategist refused to answer questions about his work on the Trump 2016 campaign and at the White House.
Mr. Bannon’s attorney later explained the tactic stemmed from White House directions to protect President Trump’s right to assert executive privilege.
In a stunning development on the same day as Mr. Bannon’s House testimony, news broke that special counsel Robert Mueller had subpoenaed him in its Russia probe. Mr. Mueller is investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election and allegations of collusion involving the Trump campaign.
On Monday, Rep. Mike Conway, Texas Republican and a House Intelligence Committee member, told Capitol Hill reporters that the committee fully expected Mr. Bannon to comply with the subpoena.
SEE ALSO: Steve Bannon won’t appear before House intelligence committee despite subpoena: report
But on Tuesday, CNN and Reuters both reported that Mr. Bannon was not expected to show up because the White House and House panel were unable to agreed on the scope of questions he could face. Instead, Mr. Bannon is reportedly cooperating with the Mueller probe.
• Dan Boylan can be reached at dboylan@washingtontimes.com.
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