Ex-Trump aide summoned to testify before grand jury

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President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon has been subpoenaed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify before a grand jury in a probe of alleged links between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

It was the first time Mueller is known to have used a subpoena against a member of Trump’s inner circle, the Times said, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

A spokesman for Mueller’s office declined to comment. Bill Burck, a lawyer for Bannon, could not immediately be reached for reaction.

The reported subpoena of Bannon does not mean he is a target of Mueller’s criminal investigation.

Bannon, a champion of Trump’s “America First” agenda, was among the Republican’s closest aides during the 2016 election campaign, the presidential transition and his first months in office.

Former Senior Counselor to the President Steve Bannon as he exits Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC in May 13, 2017. /VCG Photo‍

But the pair had a bitter public falling out over comments Bannon made to author Michael Wolff for his recent book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”

In the book, Bannon is quoted as describing a June 2016 meeting between Trump associates, including the president’s son Donald Trump Jr., his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer, as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic.”

The meeting came after Donald Trump Jr. was told in an email that the Russian government had compromising information about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, to which he replied: “I love it.”

Russia has denied meddling in the election and Trump has denied any collusion between his campaign and Moscow.

Bannon was fired by the White House in August and returned to the right-wing news website Breitbart News. He continued to speak with Trump and tried to promote the president’s agenda.

But Trump accused Bannon of having “lost his mind” when news of his comments to Wolff surfaced earlier this month. Six days later, Bannon stepped down as executive chairman at Breitbart News.

Source(s): Reuters