Report: Mueller Team Grilled Bannon for 20 Hours

Also, he stonewalled House panel in 2nd appearance
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 16, 2018 3:12 AM CST
Bannon Talks to Mueller, Stonewalls House Panel
Steve Bannon arrives for questioning by the House Intelligence Committee, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Steve Bannon was interrogated for 20 hours over two days this week as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the AP reports, citing "a person familiar with the process." The insider says the former White House chief strategist answered every question that was put to him by Mueller's team. That's in contrast to a Thursday interview with the House Intelligence Committee, where Bannon declined to answer some of lawmakers' questions, despite a subpoena. While the exact questions for Bannon are unknown, Mueller is investigating whether there was any coordination between Trump's campaign and Russians who meddled in the 2016 election, and also whether there have been any efforts to obstruct the ongoing FBI probe into those contacts.

After Bannon's roughly three-hour interview on Capitol Hill, Republicans on the House panel were weighing whether to hold him in contempt. Like his first visit to the House Intelligence Committee in January, Bannon declined to answer questions in the closed-door session. According to lawmakers of both parties, Bannon would only answer 25 questions that had been pre-approved by the White House when asked about any events in the time period after the election. His answer to each question was "no" and he told the committee he was not authorized to elaborate. Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the panel, says the questions were "literally scripted" by the White House, the Washington Post reports. He is pushing for a contempt vote, accusing Bannon of trying to block the Russia probe.

(More Steve Bannon stories.)

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