Bannon is expected to be interviewed by prosecutors instead of testifying before a grand jury, after he received a subpoena

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon will meet with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators, according to a person familiar with the decision.

Bannon is expected to be interviewed by prosecutors instead of testifying before a grand jury. He is expected to cooperate with the special counsel, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. It is unclear when the interview will occur.

Profile Who is Robert Mueller? Show Hide Background Robert S Mueller III, 74, is a former FBI director who was appointed by George W Bush and held over by Barack Obama beyond his 10-year term. The term extension required special congressional action which the Senate approved 100-0. Previously, Mueller held two different US attorney posts and was an assistant attorney general in the George HW Bush administration.

Special counsel Mueller was appointed special counsel in May 2017, eight days after Trump fired FBI director James Comey. A special counsel is a prosecutor appointed in extraordinary circumstances or in cases of conflicts of interest within the justice department. In this case, there was a need for someone to investigate the Russian matter who was not appointed by or beholden to Trump. Mueller’s team of 17 lawyers operates independently of, but (ideally) in cooperation with, Congress, which has three committees conducting investigations in parallel to Mueller. Mueller is expected to submit a report to Congress and may bring criminal charges separately. Mueller has a sizeable budget and an open-ended term. He is specifically authorized to investigate “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump” plus any matters that “may arise directly from the investigation”. He has the power to prosecute federal crimes. Can he be replaced? In theory, William Barr, the new attorney general, could fire Mueller. Barr, who once criticised Mueller's case as “fatally misconceived”, was asked during his confirmation hearing if he would fire the special counsel without good cause and replied: "I would not carry out that instruction." Although, if Trump wanted to fire Mueller, and Barr was unwilling, Trump could replace Barr. Trump's view Trump has said Mueller “is very, very good friends with [James] Comey, which is very bothersome” but also said “Robert Mueller is an honorable man.” Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP

Bannon has received a subpoena from Mueller, an AP source said.

Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, appeared before the House intelligence committee on Tuesday but refused to answer questions about his time on the Trump presidential transition team and in the White House.

It also emerged on Wednesday that Bannon’s attorney relayed questions, in real time, to the White House during the committee’s interview with the former Trump chief strategist.



The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, told reporters that this was nothing unusual. “Sometimes they actually have a White House attorney present in the room,” she said. “This time it was something that was relayed via phone and again was following standard procedure for an instance like this and something that will likely happen again on any other number of occasions, not just within this administration but future administrations.”

Steve Bannon refuses lawmakers' questions under 'White House instructions' Read more

Asked to define what the White House is telling lawyers about the scope of executive privilege, Sanders replied: “This White House is following the same practice that many White Houses before us have that have gone back decades. There is a process that you go through any time that you have congressional inquiries touching upon the White House, that Congress should consult with the White House prior to obtaining confidential material.”

During the day-long interview on Tuesday, Bannon’s attorney Bill Burck was asking the White House counsel’s office by phone whether his client could answer the questions. He was told by that office not to discuss his work on the transition or in the White House.



It is unclear who Burck communicated with or whether it was the top White House lawyer, Don McGahn. Burck is also representing McGahn in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and senior White House aide Rick Dearborn were being interviewed on Wednesday behind closed doors by the House intelligence committee, according to AP’s sources.



Bannon left the White House in August and has had a messy falling out with Trump. Relations have collapsed since the publication of Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury, for which Bannon was extensively interviewed on the record.