Trump aide Bannon rebuffs subpoena

US House intelligence panel demands answers about Russia

US President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon declined on Tuesday to comply with a subpoena ordering him to answer questions from a US House intelligence panel about his time at the White House as part of its investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the US election.

After Bannon initially refused to answer questions about the matter, Devin Nunes, the committee’s Republican party chairman, authorized a subpoena at the meeting to press Bannon to respond.

Even then Bannon refused to answer questions after his lawyer had conferred with the White House and was told again to refuse to answer questions about the transition period immediately after Trump was elected, or Bannon’s time in the administration, according to Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the committee.

Separately, the New York Times reported Bannon had been subpoenaed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify before a grand jury in a probe of alleged ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, on Tuesday.

It was the first time Mueller is known to have used a subpoena against a member of Trump’s inner circle, the Times said. It cited a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

A spokesman for Mueller’s office declined comment. Bill Burck, a lawyer for Bannon, could not immediately be reached for comment on the subpoena or his testimony before the House panel.

The reported subpoena of Bannon does not mean he is a target of Mueller’s criminal investigation.

Bannon, a champion of Trump’s “America First” agenda, was among the Republican’s closest aides during the election campaign, the presidential transition and his first months in office.

The pair had a bitter public falling out over comments Bannon made to author Michael Wolff for his recent book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

In the book, Bannon is quoted as describing a June 2016 meeting between Trump associates, including the president’s son Donald Trump Jr., his son-inlaw, Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer, as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic.”

Russia has denied meddling in the election and Trump has denied collusion between his campaign and Moscow.

Bannon was fired by the White House in August, but continued to speak to Trump and promote his agenda.