Report: Senate Intelligence Committee investigating ex-Trump aide Bannon
The Senate Intelligence Committee is taking a closer look at Stephen Bannon's activities during the 2016 presidential election, including his role at Cambridge Analytica, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
Bannon is a former White House adviser, and the committee is examining what he might know about contacts between two Trump campaign advisers, George Papadopoulos and Carter Page, and Moscow. Last year, Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about his contacts with Russians; during the campaign, he spoke with a professor who claimed Russians had "dirt" on Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, Reuters reports. In September, he was sentenced to 14 days in prison. Page, who has extensive business ties to Russia, has not been charged with anything.
Investigators also want to know about Bannon's time as vice president of Cambridge Analytica, a defunct data analysis company. He was there from June 2014 to August 2016, when he left to join the Trump campaign as a strategist. Cambridge Analytica collected the personal data of millions of Facebook users without their consent, and was hired by the Trump campaign to target potential voters.
Subscribe to 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.
Two people told Reuters staff investigators hope to interview Bannon in late November. Bannon's lawyer, William Burck, told Reuters the committee "has expressed an interest in interviewing Mr. Bannon as a witness, just as they have many other people involved in the Trump campaign. But the committee has never suggested that he's under investigation himself and to claim otherwise is recklessly false."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Unprepared for a pandemic
Opinion What happens if bird flu evolves to spread among humans?
By William Falk Published
-
6 impressive homes in Toronto
Feature Featuring floating stairs in Lytton Park and a two-tiered infinity pool in Banbury-Don Mills
By The Week Staff Published
-
Samantha Harvey's 6 favorite books that redefine how we see the world
Feature The Booker Prize-winning author recommends works by Marilynne Robinson, George Eliot, and more
By The Week US Published
-
House GOP unveils bill for Trump to buy Greenland
Speed Read The bill would allow the U.S. to purchase the Danish territory — or procure it through economic or military force
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
DOJ releases Trump Jan. 6 special counsel report
Speed Read Jack Smith's report details the president-elect's "criminal efforts to retain power" amid the 2020 election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel, Hamas and US say cease-fire deal close
Speed Read A high-level cease-fire negotiation is gaining momentum in Biden's final week as president
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jimmy Carter honored in state funeral, laid to rest
Speed Read The state funeral was attended by all living presidents
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sentenced after Supreme Court rejection
Speed Read Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberal justices in the majority
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
DOJ to release half of Trump special counsel report
Speed Read The portion regarding Trump's retention of classified documents will not be publicly released
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Jimmy Carter lies in state as 3-day DC farewell begins
Speed Read The 39th president died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Giuliani held in contempt of court over forfeit assets
Speed Read He has failed to turn over $11 million in assets to two Georgia election workers he defamed after the 2020 election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published