Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is likely to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller next week, NBC News reported Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the process.

Bannon, who headed President Donald Trump's campaign down the stretch of the 2016 election, has come under scrutiny recently due to his quotes in Michael Wolff's explosive book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House." According to the book, Bannon ripped two of Trump's adult children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

Bannon reportedly struck a deal last month with Mueller's team to avoid testifying before a grand jury. The former Breitbart News chief was the first close Trump staffer or confidant to be served a grand jury subpoena related to Mueller's probe of possible collusion between the campaign and Russia. Bannon left the White House in August.

The news of Bannon's possible meeting with the special counsel comes as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said the panel should begin contempt proceedings against Bannon if he refuses to come back and testify about alleged Russian meddling in the election.

Last month, Bannon had refused to answer questions about his time in the White House during a closed-door session with the House intelligence panel.

NBC tweet

— Reuters contributed to this article.