Former White House Chief Strategist and ex-Breitbart chairman Steve Bannon has been formally subpoenaed by Robert Mueller to testify before a grand jury in the special counsel’s ongoing probe into ties between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign.
The New York Times reported the news on Tuesday citing, a person “with direct knowledge of the matter.”
On Tuesday, Bannon testified on the matter before the House Intelligence Committee in a closed-door hearing.
Bannon and Trump have been on the outs since the publication of Michael Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” In the book, Bannon made several disparaging comments about Donald Trump Jr.’s 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower, calling it “unpatriotic” and “treasonous.”
Bannon joined the Trump campaign in its final months and it is unclear what information he could provide the special counsel — or how cooperative he will be. Two other former Trump associates, George Papadopoulos and former National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn have already been indicted on charges of lying to the FBI.
As reported in “Fire and Fury,” Bannon believes that the road to Trump’s undoing will not run through Russia, but with financial impropriety.
“You realize where this is going,” says Bannon in the book. “This is all about money laundering. Mueller chose [senior prosecutor Andrew] Weissmann first and he is a money-laundering guy. Their path to f—ing Trump goes right through [former Trump campaign manager] Paul Manafort, Don Jr. and Jared Kushner. It’s as plain as a hair on your face.”
Trump publicly broke with Bannon after his comments to Wolff were widely reported. The president denounced his former confidante in a lengthy statement earlier this month.
“Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency,” Trump said. “When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.”
A quasi-apology from Bannon did not stem the tide, and he ultimately resigned from Breitbart News, last week.