Bannon strikes probe deal
President does ‘well’ in cognitive test designed to detect any impairment
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has struck a deal to be interviewed by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team instead of appearing before a grand jury, CNN reported yesterday, citing sources close to Bannon.
The New York Times said on Tuesday Bannon had been subpoenaed by Mueller to testify before a grand jury in an ongoing probe of alleged ties between Russia and President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, Bannon on Tuesday refused to answer questions from a congressional committee probing the president’s campaign links to Russia, saying he was under orders from the White House not to.
Bannon was quizzed voluntarily behind closed doors by the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, the first time he has testified in the probe.
President Donald Trump is in excellent overall health and achieved a perfect score on a cognitive test that the president requested as part of his first formal medical exam since taking office, the White House’s top physician announced Tuesday.
Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson said he administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment during Trump’s physical exam Friday afternoon at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and said the president achieved a score of 30 points.
The 10-minute exam is designed to detect mild cognitive impairment, such as dementia, generally in older patients.
Trump’s critics have recently questioned his mental fitness — an issue that gained attention in recent weeks over such things as the president’s belligerent tweets about North Korea.
Trump further inflamed the debate earlier this month when he lashed out at his detractors on Twitter and claimed he is a “very stable genius” while touting his accomplishments. Jackson said Trump requested a cognitive exam to put the issue of his mental fitness to rest.
‘Very sharp’
“There’s no indication whatsoever that he has any cognitive issues,” Jackson said.
The assessment he took includes asking a patient to name several animals, draw a clock with the hands at a certain time, copy a cube and recall a shortlist of words. It is not a psychological exam.
The president is “very sharp” and “very articulate” in their conversations and does not repeat himself, Jackson said.
Overall, Jackson described a president in excellent health for a 71-year-old man, except for his elevated cholesterol level and his weight, 239 pounds (108kg), which qualifies him as borderline obese for a man of his height, 6-foot-3. Even so, Jackson said, the president shows no evidence of heart disease.
His blood pressure, resting heart rate and “ejection fraction” — a measure of the amount of blood his heart pumps with each contraction — are all in the normal range, Jackson said. His vision is sharp, his neurological tests were normal and gastroenterological tests turned up no problems, he said. The president has a fasting blood glucose of 89, which is normal, and no sign of diabetes.