Special Counsel Robert Mueller threw a curveball into the Trump-Russia saga today when he subpoenaed Steve Bannon to testify before a grand jury in Donald Trump’s Russia scandal. This is notable because it’s the first known instance of Mueller hauling one of Trump’s seniormost advisers before a grand jury. It’s even more notable because people are not subpoenaed to testify in a grand jury against themselves. This means Mueller has grand juries underway against other people in the Trump-Russia scandal. Based on the progress that’s already been made in terms of climbing up the ladder of Trump’s advisers, this grand jury can only be against a handful of people.

The New York Times was the first to report the subpoena this morning, and it’s reporting revealed that Bannon is being called to testify about the actions of Trump’s other advisers in relation to Russia. But at this point, who’s left? We’re long past the point of the investigation being focused on middling figures like George Papadopoulos. The case against Paul Manafort has already moved beyond grand jury to impending trial. Michael Flynn has already cut a deal.

Realistically speaking, the remaining grand jury targets are Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr. Considering that Bannon made criminal assertions against them both in the Fire and Fury book, it makes perfect sense that Mueller would bring Bannon in to testify against either or both of them.

As Palmer Report pointed out earlier, Robert Mueller’s decision to subpoena Steve Bannon for a grand jury means that Bannon isn’t a target, which in turn means Bannon has probably already agreed to a deal. The subpoena may simply be Bannon’s way of having legal cover against any lawsuits Donald Trump might try to bring against him (link). In the meantime, Mueller just revealed that he has grand juries going against Kushner and/or Trump Jr, which means the stakes are higher than ever.