Per Politico: Testifying before the House Intelligence Committee re the Trump-Russia investigation as scheduled today, former Trump advisor and chief strategist Steve Bannon refused to answer any questions on matters that took place during his time in the White House.
That pissed off Committee members on both sides of the aisle sufficiently that they slapped a subpoena on him right then and there.
President Donald Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon refused to answer questions Tuesday from the House intelligence committee about his time in the White House, prompting panel members to subpoena him on the spot, according to a person familiar with the interview…
According to the person familiar with the interview, Bannon's attorney told the committee he wouldn't discuss anything about his time in the White House or during the transition after the 2016 election. During that period, Trump allegedly sought a pledge of loyalty from then-FBI Director James Comey and later fired him.
Apparently the subpoena was approved by the head of the Committee, Devin Nunes. He seemed a bit defensive:
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) confirmed Tuesday that he issued a subpoena for Bannon.
“Of course I authorized the subpoena," he told reporters. "That’s how the rules work.”
Apparently, hell hath no fury like that of a Committee stonewalled.
Hard to say what was going on when we don’t know what questions they were throwing at him, but clearly he’s got something heavy to hide, or is hiding it for someone else in an effort to appear loyal after the Fire and Fury fiasco.
He’s hiding it both from House Intel and Mueller, apparently, since Mueller subpoenaed him also.
With any luck, if the Committee doesn’t officially release the transcript, one of the Dem members will, a la Feinstein.
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Wednesday, Jan 17, 2018 · 3:28:49 AM +00:00
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Karen Wehrstein
After 10 hours of hearing, most of which apparently was negotiating for his testimony, a recess was called and Bannon was let go.
His refusal to answer questions about events subsequent to the inauguration was apparently caused by orders from the White House. Per Politico:
According to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), after the subpoena, Bannon's attorney contacted the White House, which he said "doubled down" on its demand that he refuse to answer the committee's questions.
"This was effectively a gag order by the White House," Schiff said after the interview concluded. He said he expected Bannon to return to the committee soon, without any restrictions demanded by the White House.
I wonder why that expectation? The Republicans on the Committee have said nothing about next steps. He will walk, perhaps, as other Republican miscreants have from congressional investigations.
But I don’t know that he can walk from Mueller.