Bannon met with special counsel investigators two days this week

[webfact]

Bannon met with special counsel investigators two days this week

By Patricia Zengerle and Karen Freifeld

 

Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former White House adviser Steve Bannon answered questions from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team for two days this week, but then frustrated lawmakers by remaining tight-lipped during testimony to the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

 

Three sources familiar with the Mueller proceedings said Bannon was interviewed for a total of about 20 hours by Mueller's investigators and prosecutors. One said he had answered a range of questions, unlike his refusal to do so before the House intelligence panel.

 

Another said Bannon was questioned on topics including his knowledge of President Donald Trump's reasons for firing James Comey as Federal Bureau of Investigation director last year, as well as dealings with the Russian ambassador by former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

 

In contrast, leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation said Bannon, Trump's former strategist and a key player in Trump's 2016 election campaign, would answer only 25 questions approved by the White House.

 

Representative Adam Schiff, the panel's top Democrat, called for the initiation of contempt of Congress proceedings against Bannon. Bannon also refused to answer many questions during his first appearance before the intelligence panel on Jan. 16.

 

Declining to discuss with the committee the weeks after the November 2016 presidential election and before Trump's inauguration, or his own time at the White House, Bannon claimed executive privilege and special protections for presidential communications in refusing to say more, lawmakers said.

 

Bannon's attorney and White House aides did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

'FRUSTRATION'

 

"He did not answer all the questions we'd like answered, so there was frustration among committee members with respect to that," said Republican Representative Mike Conaway, who has been overseeing the committee's investigation of Russia and the 2016 U.S. election.

 

A source familiar with his appearance before the committee said Bannon told lawmakers he was "not authorized to answer" about 35 times, and answered "no" to all of the 25 questions that had been authorized by the White House.

 

U.S. intelligence agencies determined more than a year ago that Moscow sought to interfere in the campaign. The investigations by congressional committees and Mueller's team have shadowed the first year of Trump's campaign.

 

Russia has denied trying to meddle in the election. Trump, a Republican, has denied collusion between his associates and Moscow. Mueller has been conducting a criminal investigation of possible collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign to sway the 2016 presidential election.

 

"There was a refusal to answer any questions that would have brought out the full facts. That is not how privilege works. That's how stonewalling works," Schiff told reporters.

 

Conaway said attorneys would have to consider the claims of privilege, and there would have to be discussions with House Speaker Paul Ryan and other officials about whether a contempt proceeding was appropriate.

 

"I think he (Bannon) should answer our questions," he told reporters.

 

Trump fired Bannon, the former head of the hard-right Breitbart News website, from his White House position in August. Bannon had been a close Trump associate since he joined the Trump campaign and helped the political novice defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

 

Reuters reported last week that Bannon was expected to meet with Mueller this week.

 

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Mark Hosenball and John Walcott; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-16

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Lock up this scum bag and throw away the key. Trump and his family and all the cronies too. Rotten bunch of treasonous crooks. 

 

They are the swamp!!!!

Edited February 16, 2018 by ALLSEEINGEYE

[Proboscis]

1 hour ago, ALLSEEINGEYE said:

Lock up this scum bag and throw away the key. Trump and his family and all the cronies too. Rotten bunch of treasonous crooks. 

 

They are the swamp!!!!

But if we were to do that, we would be no better than the guy who called for his political opponent to be thrown in jail and said he would put her in jail if he won. He didn't.

 

No matter how scummy the bag, the onus is still on us to have rule of law and not to fall into the trap of the populists who think that it is something like a Game of Thrones TV series where when you win you can jail or execute all your opponents.

[Srikcir]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

he had answered a range of questions, unlike his refusal to do so before the House intelligence panel.

Welcome to the world of criminal investigations Mr. Bannon.

No executive privilege, no contemporaneous guidance from the White House, no protecting Trump.

His testimony will likely be used as "bait" or collaboration when senior white advisors and cabinet members are brought in for questioning. Then it's on the the last level of interviews.

[ilostmypassword]

According to CNN, Robert Gates is on the verge of becoming a cooperating witness. A "Queen for the Day"

"Former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates is finalizing a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller's office, indicating he's poised to cooperate in the investigation, according to sources familiar with the case.

Gates has already spoken to Mueller's team about his case and has been in plea negotiations for about a month. He's had what criminal lawyers call a "Queen for a Day" interview, in which a defendant answers any questions from the prosecutors' team, including about his own case and other potential criminal activity he witnessed.

Gates' cooperation could be another building block for Mueller in a possible case against President Donald Trump or key members of his team."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/politics/rick-gates-plea-deal-mueller-russia-investigation/index.html

[mrwebb8825]

On 2/16/2018 at 7:41 AM, webfact said:

"There was a refusal to answer any questions that would have brought out the full facts. That is not how privilege works. That's how stonewalling works," Schiff told reporters.

Seems pretty sure he already knows all the answers Bannon refused to give but it got his panties in a bunch when he didn't get proof. Very "Democratic" of him. (pun intended) 

[Srikcir]

16 minutes ago, mrwebb8825 said:

Seems pretty sure he already knows all the answers Bannon refused to give but it got his panties in a bunch when he didn't get proof. Very "Democratic" of him. (pun intended) 

It would be more "Democratic" of the Committee (pun intended) to see the "Republican" majority side (not a pun) with the Democratic minority to force Bannon to answer or face contempt of Congress - a federal misdemeanor, punishable by a fine and a maximum one-year sentence in federal prison. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/contempt_of_congress

 

[mrwebb8825]

Congress is at the very least, contemptible. Everyone just assumes he knows every dirty little secret that will single-handedly bring President Trump down.

The loudest dog in the yard usually has the least amount to say. The book didn't bring anyone down but Bannon himself as it was just tabloid trash. A "15 minutes of fame" flash in the pan sold mostly to the haters and the dems and now, a nothing burger. Remember he went out of his way to make sure the media knew he wasn't going to answer anyone's questions except Mueller before it ever happened so I think it's just a lot of hot air and he's trying to somehow stay in the spotlight a little longer.