Trump reportedly decided on his own to curtail Bannon's testimony

Stephen. Bannon.
(Image credit: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AFP/Getty Images)

It was President Trump's decision to limit former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon's testimony this Tuesday in front of the House Intelligence Committee, based on legal advice he received from a key aide to White House Counsel Don McGahn, two people with knowledge of the matter told Foreign Policy on Thursday.

Deputy White House Counsel Uttam Dhillon concluded that there might be legitimate executive privilege claims to curb the testimony of former and current Trump aides, Foreign Policy reports, but the claims don't extend to providing information or testimony to Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.