Reports: Bannon Won’t Appear Before House Intel Panel Despite Subpoena

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon will not appear before the House Intelligence Committee for questioning Tuesday, despite a subpoena, according to sources who spoke to CNN and Reuters.

Defying the subpoena could result in a contempt of Congress charge for the former far-right media mogul, who recently fell from grace after his comments about President Donald Trump’s son were made public in Michael Wolff’s new “Fire and Fury” book on the Trump White House.

While senior Republican committee member Rep. Mike Conway (R-TX) told reporters Monday that the committee was fully expecting Bannon to comply with the subpoena, sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN and Reuters said Bannon isn’t planning to show up Tuesday because the White House and the House panel haven’t come to an agreement on the scope of Bannon’s questioning.

The House panel subpoenaed Bannon in January after he refused to answer questions about his time working for President Donald Trump, a move that was apparently invoked by the White House, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told reporters after Bannon’s January interview.

At the time Bannon and his attorney said he would only answer questions about his time working for the campaign, not as a member of Trump’s transition team or about his role in the White House.

CNN’s source said that while Bannon isn’t planning to comply with the House Intelligence panel’s subpoena, he would instead answer all of special counsel Robert Mueller’s questions.

Mueller and Congressional investigators are probing Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and whether Trump campaign aides worked with Russian officials to support those efforts.