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.
Throughout his closed-door meeting with the House Intelligence Committee, Bannon refused to answer most questions about what happened during the transition and his time in the White House. His lawyer was on the phone with the White House counsel's office during much of the session, asking which questions Bannon should answer and which to avoid. Bannon has reportedly agreed to be interviewed by Mueller, with a person close to him telling The Daily Beast earlier this week that he's ready to tell all.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘It’s not normal for parents to raise their children in isolation’instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Is a market crash around the corner?Talking Points Observers see echoes of 1929
-
Frankenstein is alive, the Alabama prison system is exposed and Rose Byrne goes full Crazy Mom in October moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘The Alabama Solution’ and ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’
-
News organizations reject Pentagon restrictionsSpeed Read The proposed policy is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest move to limit press access at the Pentagon
-
Trump declares end to Gaza war, ‘dawn’ of new MideastSpeed Read Hamas freed the final 20 living Israeli hostages and Israel released thousands of Palestinian detainees
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia JamesSpeed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in ChicagoSpeed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leadersSpeed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-offSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
