Bannon speaks to Mueller’s team

WASHINGTON — Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, whose involvement in the Trump White House and the president’s election campaign makes him knowledgeable about matters related to Russian meddling and potential obstruction of an ongoingfederal inquiry, was interrogated over two days this week by investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller, according to a person familiar withthe process.

Mr. Bannon’s interview by Mr. Mueller’s team came just before he visited Capitol Hill on Thursday to answer questions as part of the House intelligence committee’s own Russia probe. Like his first visit in January, Mr. Bannon declined to answer some questions in the closed-door interview — forcing Republican lawmakers to weigh whether to hold him in contemptof Congress.

He would answer only 25 questions that had been pre-approved by the White House in reference to any events after President Donald Trump’s election. His answer to each question was “no” and he told the committee he was not authorized to elaborate, according to lawmakers of bothparties.

Mr. Bannon was already under subpoena as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been critical of the White House’s sweeping interpretation of executive privilege and its contention that pretty much everything is off limits until the president says it’s not.

The escalating fight between Congress and the White House over the privilege issue has centered around Mr. Bannon, an outsized figure in Mr. Trump’s campaign and White House. He was fired from the White House last summer, and more recently had a falling out with Mr. Trump after the January publication of a book in which he sharply criticized Trump familymembers.