Former chief strategist and Trump campaign executive Steve Bannon was interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee yesterday for over 10 hours but, through his lawyer, he refused to answer questions about certain periods of time by citing executive privilege.
That will not be the case when he speaks to special prosecutor Robert Mueller, however, and the Daily Beast reports that he intends to tell Mueller everything he wants to know.
Executive privilege—the president’s right to keep certain information from the public so he can have frank conversations with aides—will not keep Steve Bannon from sharing information with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, according to a person familiar with the situation.
“Mueller will hear everything Bannon has to say,” said the source, who is familiar with Bannon’s thinking. [...]
This sweeping understanding of privilege will not affect what Bannon tells Mueller’s team, according to our source. (To be sure, Bannon isn’t known for being predictable, and it’s possible his team may still look for ways to dodge Mueller’s queries.)
It may seem contradictory that Bannon refused to tell the House Intelligence Committee everything he knows but intends to share it with Mueller, but it may not be.
Speculation that Mueller's grand jury subpoena of Bannon was a negotiating tactic appears to have been correct. CNN reported this morning that Bannon has reached a deal to meet with Mueller privately rather than appear in front of a grand jury. His cooperation and willingness to answer all of Mueller's questions is ostensibly part of their agreement.
Bannon's attorney told the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that Bannon would answer questions when he goes to the special counsel because executive privilege would not apply, according to one of the sources
A spokesman for the special counsel's office declined to comment.
This may not be something that concerns Bannon at all -- we have no idea what he's really thinking -- but anything he said to the House Intelligence Committee probably would have immediately found its way back to the White House. The Intelligence Committee is chaired by Devin Nunes, a Trump toady who has shared details of his investigations with the White House in the past.