Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon will testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, his second appearance in front of the panel after lawmakers said he failed to answer some of their questions earlier this month.
Committee member Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) told reporters Monday that he expected Bannon to return before the committee on Wednesday.
{mosads}Bannon’s second appearance comes after he refused to answer lawmakers’ questions about his time at the White House or during the Trump transition.
Lawmakers on the panel said the former Breitbart News chief repeatedly refused to answer questions relating to that time frame by invoking “executive privilege,” which they say he does not have.
President Trump reportedly ordered that Bannon limit his testimony during the questioning.
Bannon’s attorney reportedly relayed the questions to the White House in real time to see if the former aide would be allowed to answer specific questions.
Chief of staff John Kelly said the White House did not tell Bannon to invoke executive privilege during the testimony.
The administration defended itself against the reports, saying it was following past precedent in the course of the interviews and that officials expected everyone involved in the investigation to be “fully cooperative.”
Lawmakers issued a subpoena against Bannon immediately after he refused to answer some questions.
— Katie Bo Williams contributed reporting.