Exclusive: Rep. Adam Schiff Offers New Insight into Steve Bannon and the Democratic Memo
Schiff says Trump is "alarmed at what Bob Mueller is doing."
BY ANDREW COHEN
FEB 20, 2018
Rep. Adam Schiff seems ready to acknowledge the theory that Steve Bannon is trying to run out the clock on Capitol Hill lawmakers. Speaking to Esquire.com, the California Democrat said that the House Intelligence Committee has been somewhat tougher on Bannon than it has been with other former Trump aides called to testify in the Russia probe—namely Corey Lewandowski. But Schiff believes that Bannon has spoken instead to Robert Mueller and his investigators because he thinks he’d likely lose a legal showdown over executive privilege if he were to cross the special counsel.
“Steve Bannon apparently is a man without a country, neither in with the White House nor in with Breitbart, so the majority is willing to take him on in a way they have not been willing with other witnesses,” Schiff said.
Schiff also said that federal law enforcement officials and Congressional Democrats have made “a lot of progress” in the past week in their negotiations over the release of the Democratic response to the so-called "Nunes memo" and a deal could be announced within the next 24-to-48 hours. Less clear is whether that deal, if it comes to pass, will permit the public to finally view the Democratic memo, or whether it simply will be returned for another round of review by White House officials, who have previously blocked its publication.
When asked to respond to Schiff’s comments, Bannon spoke through his lawyer, William Burck. “The White House determined which of the Committee’s questions Mr. Bannon could and could not answer based on its view of the scope of the president’s claim of executive privilege,” Burck said in a statement to Esquire.com. “The Ranking Member should take up any disagreement he has with the White House’s position with the White House itself. Unless the White House changes their claim of executive privilege, Mr. Bannon will continue to respect the limits on his testimony by the White House to the Committee.”
Schiff ruled out the possibility, floated earlier this month, that he or another member of the Democratic caucus would read the memo on the floor of the House to ensure its contents are made public if the administration continues to block its publication. He said he hoped, at a minimum, that Democratic efforts to work through FBI and Justice Department officials in vetting the memo would preclude the White House from redacting material information for political purposes, which is the widespread claim against Rep. Devin Nunes, the committee chairman, whose memo selectively disclosed information about a pending FISA investigation.
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https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a18377432/schiff-bannon-russia-investigation/?src=nl&mag=esq&list=nl_enl_news&date=022118
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