Rep. Adam Schiff seems ready to acknowledge the theory that Steve Bannon is trying to run out the clock on Capitol Hill lawmakers. Speaking to Esquire.com, the California Democrat said that the House Intelligence Committee has been somewhat tougher on Bannon than it has been with other former Trump aides called to testify in the Russia probe—namely Corey Lewandowski. But Schiff believes that Bannon has spoken instead to Robert Mueller and his investigators because he thinks he’d likely lose a legal showdown over executive privilege if he were to cross the special counsel.

“Steve Bannon apparently is a man without a country, neither in with the White House nor in with Breitbart, so the majority is willing to take him on in a way they have not been willing with other witnesses,” Schiff said.

“Steve Bannon apparently is a man without a country," -Rep Adam Schiff

Schiff also said that federal law enforcement officials and Congressional Democrats have made “a lot of progress” in the past week in their negotiations over the release of the Democratic response to the so-called "Nunes memo" and a deal could be announced within the next 24-to-48 hours. Less clear is whether that deal, if it comes to pass, will permit the public to finally view the Democratic memo, or whether it simply will be returned for another round of review by White House officials, who have previously blocked its publication.

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When asked to respond to Schiff’s comments, Bannon spoke through his lawyer, William Burck. “The White House determined which of the Committee’s questions Mr. Bannon could and could not answer based on its view of the scope of the president’s claim of executive privilege,” Burck said in a statement to Esquire.com. “The Ranking Member should take up any disagreement he has with the White House’s position with the White House itself. Unless the White House changes their claim of executive privilege, Mr. Bannon will continue to respect the limits on his testimony by the White House to the Committee.”

Schiff ruled out the possibility, floated earlier this month, that he or another member of the Democratic caucus would read the memo on the floor of the House to ensure its contents are made public if the administration continues to block its publication. He said he hoped, at a minimum, that Democratic efforts to work through FBI and Justice Department officials in vetting the memo would preclude the White House from redacting material information for political purposes, which is the widespread claim against Rep. Devin Nunes, the committee chairman, whose memo selectively disclosed information about a pending FISA investigation.

“As the FISA applications are now public knowledge, as long as it doesn’t disclose sources or methods, our feeling is that it should be provided to the public. I think the FBI is very reluctant to declassify anything that is not already in the public realm. But there is a public interest in going beyond simply what’s classified,” Schiff said.

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“With respect to the Congress, they hope to draw this out as long as possible. [Republicans] know their claim of privilege is farcically broad and will never hold up, but they think they can wear us down. And of course the noises that our majority makes from time to time about shutting down the investigation only give them heart. I mean, why cooperate any more than they have to?”

Schiff also responded to a report over the weekend that he has rattled President Trump.

“I am doing my job and clearly there is something in it that is threatening to the president, or at least he views it that way, and he’s even more alarmed at what Bob Mueller is doing,” Schiff said. “He seems to think that these playground bully tactics are going to work. They don’t work at all. They just steel people’s resolved to be more disciplined about their work.”

Andrew Cohen Andrew Cohen, a legal analyst and commentator, is a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and a senior editor at the Marshall Project.

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