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Steve Bannon, former advisor to President Trump, arrives at a House Intelligence Committee closed door meeting, on January 16, 2018 in Washington, DC.
William Burck, Bannon’s recently retained lawyer who is simultaneously defending two other clients related to the investigation, told the committee that Bannon would not be answering any questions beyond those relating to the presidential campaign, according to Axios.
Burck did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
CNBC reported that the White House had agreed on the parameters with House committee staffers the week before. California Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the panel, said the White House did not inform him or his fellow Democrats about such a deal.
A representative for Schiff did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Bannon’s slip-up came within the first 90 minutes of the testimony, Axios reported, leading committee members to aggressively push Bannon to answer more questions about his time inside the White House.
Bannon was also asked to address some of the claims he allegedly made in “Fire and Fury” In the book, Bannon had suggested it was almost certain that Donald Trump Jr. had taken the Russians from the Trump Tower meeting to see his father.
In the testimony, Bannon essentially said his claim was speculative, Axios reported. The elder Trump has repeatedly claimed that Wolff’s book is false.
News that special counsel Robert Mueller had served Bannon with a grand jury subpoena hit during the testimony, prompting committee members to pause and reassess the whole process, Axios added.
Bannon has since negotiated himself out of an appearance before a federal grand jury, according to a CNN report Wednesday.
Read the full Axios report here.