As NBC News reports on when Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team is likely to interview Steve Bannon, CNN shares what investigators are likely to want to discuss
Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon is expected to meet with Mueller’s team by Jan. 31, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
CNN:
In addition to the [James] Comey and [Michael] Flynn firings, key issues from Bannon's time in the White House are likely to include Trump's decision to fire then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates and any pressure the President may have exerted on [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions about the FBI investigation into Russia's interference with the election.
Bannon's attorney has said that his client will not be able to use the protections of executive privilege to dodge questions when he meets with Mueller's team. Last week, Bannon infuriated lawmakers from both parties after he refused to answer questions before the House Intelligence Committee about his work during the presidential transition or in the West Wing.
A former prosecutor tells CNN that Mueller's team could use Michael Wolff's book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," as an outline for questioning since Wolff quotes Bannon making several explosive statements related to the Russia investigation.
In the book, Bannon said Trump "kept trying" to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Kremlin strongman rebuffed Trump during his trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant in December 2013.
Bannon also claimed that Mueller's investigation is sure to lead back to money laundering.
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Bannon also said Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both senior White House advisers, are "terrified" that Mueller will investigate the finances of their respective business empires.
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Bannon is quoted disparaging Trump's son Trump Jr. and Kushner in "Fire and Fury," calling [the June 9th Trump Tower] meeting promising dirt on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton "treasonous." ...
Bannon also claimed in the Wolff book that there was "zero" chance that Trump Jr. didn't introduce the Russians to his father, an allegation Trump Jr. and others have denied.
Bannon told the House Intelligence Committee that he had had conversations about the Trump Jr. meeting with the Russians with Priebus, Corallo and Sean Spicer ...
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Mueller's investigators may also have questions about Bannon's activities during the presidential transition ...
For instance, Bannon was forwarded an email during the transition detailing the plan for then-incoming national security adviser Flynn to talk with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about sanctions, according to The New York Times.
Bannon's involvement and tenure intersects with various other key Trump campaign, transition, and administration developments in the Russia investigation, including the following:
One of the other lingering questions in the Russia investigation is whether there was any collusion or cooperation between the Trump campaign's data team and the Russian government, which also used social media to target specific voters during the campaign.
Both sides flatly deny any collusion. But Bannon is close to the Mercer family of GOP megadonors. They were major backers to Trump's campaign and support a variety of conservative groups, including Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that worked on the Trump campaign. Bannon served on the company's board before joining Trump's campaign.
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In December 2016, Bannon joined Kushner and Flynn for a meeting at Trump Tower with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. After the meeting, Erik Prince -- a businessman, Trump donor and Bannon ally -- reached out to the prince and said he had authorization to act as an informal emissary for Trump, according to The Washington Post.
Prince, founder of the private security company Blackwater USA and the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, flew to the Seychelles one month later and met Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund, according to Prince's testimony at the House Intelligence Committee.
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Mueller's team, as well as congressional investigators, could also question Bannon about his interactions with Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians. He is now cooperating with Mueller's investigation.
Read More: Mueller set to question Bannon on Flynn and Comey (CNN)
Flynn kept FBI interview concealed from White House, Trump (NBC News)