BREAKING Schiff video: Bannon refused to answer questions, Trump WH gag order silencing him.

[L. Coyote]

YUUUUGE news, unprecedented WH actions thwarting investigation, obstructing Congressional oversight.

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[lindysalsagal]

1. Obstruction of justice. Plain, and simple.

Presidents don't have non-disclosure rights. Idiot.

[L. Coyote]

19. The timing of the Mueller subpoena news is likely not a coincidence.

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👆🏼THIS is the first time Mueller is known to have used a grand jury subpoena to seek info from *directly* Trump’s INNER CIRCLE‼️🤗 (Mueller has used subpoenas before to seek info *about* Trump’s associates & their ties to #Russia or other foreign governments.) 2/

Mueller likely is using the subpoena as a negotiating tactic b/c Bannon could likely avoid the grand jury if he agrees to be questioned by investigators in Team🇺🇸Mueller’s offices. 3/

It’s NOT clear why Mueller is manhandling Bannon👉🏼different than the dozen Trump administration officials interviewed late last year who were NEVER subpoenaed. 4/

🔥WHOA🔥
Mueller issued the subpoena *after* Bannon was quoted #FireAndFury‼️
👉🏼Criticized Trump
👉🏼Called Trump Jr’s 2016 #RussianLawyer🇷🇺meeting “treasonous”
👉🏼Predicted that Mueller’s investigation would ultimately center on #MoneyLaundering 5/

Mueller’s subpoena of Bannon is BIGLY bad news for Team🇷🇺Treason. Prosecutors typically interview witnesses before a grand jury if they think they have info that the witnesses do NOT know they have (like SIGINT) or when they think they might catch the witnesses in a lie‼️ 6/

During an interview, the LAWYER can interject, making it much easier for a witness to stop the questioning or sidestep questions.
But grand jury testimony is transcribed, and witnesses are REQUIRED to answer *every* question‼️ 7/

Unlike an interview, the witness' lawyer is NOT allowed into the GRAND JURY room👉🏼only the witness, the prosecutors, the grand jurors & the court reporter.
Makes it MUCH easier to catch a witness in a LIE‼️😎 8/

Mueller's grand jury is ACTIVELY working👉🏼undermines the WH spin that the #TrumpRussia🇷🇺probe will end soon & Trump will be cleared.
Mueller informed Trump’s lawyers that he will want to question Trump, but the interview has not been scheduled yet.😎 9/

Bannon has LOTS of inside info on Team🇷🇺Trump:
👉🏼Campaign / digital ops / Cambridge Analytica
👉🏼Served as chief executive of Trump campaign in Oct'16 when WikiLeaks released hacked emails from Podesta
👉🏼Transition team w/PENCE
👉🏼Flynn's firing
👉🏼Mercer's role 10/

In #FireAndFury, Bannon said that Junior, Kush & Manafort were “treasonous” & “unpatriotic” for attending the #RussianLawyer🇷🇺meeting. Bannon also said there was “zero” chance that Jr didn't take them to meet Daddy Trump.
Mueller will DEFINITELY probe this‼️😎 11/

After lambasting "Sloppy Steve", Trump suddenly realized that Bannon can HURT him & backed off, b/c Trump likely was told that Bannon would soon be GRILLED by Mueller‼️
Don't you just love Team🇷🇺Traitor's circular firing squad⁉️😉 12/

Mueller's heavy-handed tactics against Bannon are reminiscent (albeit MUCH less harsh) than his NO-KNOCK RAID of Manafort's house. Meaning: Bannon is a pretty big fish, who can help Mueller NAIL Trump‼️ 13/

Recall that Bannon has the SAME lawyer as Priebus & McGahn, so if ONE flipped, then ALL of them flipped. (It would be unethical for a lawyer to represent clients on "opposite sides" of an investigation, meaning witness vs defendant.) 14/

It's quite possible that Bannon is being uncooperative, BUT we know that Priebus *voluntarily* turned over ALL of his notes to Mueller. 15/

If Bannon is being uncooperative, a GRAND JURY subpoena is YUGE stick👉🏼massive leverage by Mueller to force an interview, which is HIGHLY preferred by the witness/target over Grand Jury testimony for the reasons outlined above‼️ 16/

Another explanation is that Bannon FLIPPED & is cooperating👉🏼Mueller's subpoena provides COVER for him to either testify before the Grand Jury or be interviewed by Mueller. 17/

Fmr Whitewater prosecutor of Bill Clinton (Solomon Wisenberg)👉🏼"By forcing someone to testify through a subpoena, you are providing the witness w/cover b/c they can say, ‘I had no choice — I had to go in & testify about everything I knew.'"😉 18/

[Wwcd]

22. Thanks for unrolling this. I had read some of Dr Grayson's posts earlier.

She explains it well.

How many obstruction charges does Trump have at this point?
Here's one more, & its a big glaring one.

[L. Coyote]

24. Trump's obstructions are really pilling up. Firing Comey certainly remains number one in import.

And Trump isn't the only one in jeopardy. At least Rosenstein seems to have redeemed himself, but Sessions is still a likely target.

Deja DU: May 11, 2017, Trump's New Impeachable Offenses: Obstruction of Justice, Conspiracy, Abuse of Power

[Wwcd]

33. OMG Ok, Trump is never walking away from this as a free man. Ever.

And when Trump goes down he drags the entire complicit bunch with him.

Thanks for posting this.
Hard to imagine the day this all ends.
I believe we'll all be in tears celebrating.

[PoliticAverse]

2. "unprecedented WH actions to thwarting investigation". Hardly "unprecedented", look up the history..

of Presidential executive privledge claims and congressional testimony.

For example, from: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/when-presidents-invoke-executive-privilege/

Barely a month later, Bush used the privilege to allow Karl Rove, his senior adviser at the time, to avoid testifying before Congress during its investigation into the firing of nine federal prosecutors, allegedly for partisan reasons.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

5. Isn't "executive privilege" reserved for the President only? Staff members can't claim it

on their own.

Also, where the President can assert executive privilege, can a president-elect do so?

It sounds like the WH is trying to obstruct justice without making it look like they're obstructing justice. Nice try.

[PoliticAverse]

12. No, it applies to executive branch employees, but the President does have to assert it

specifically for that employee (as Bush did for Karl Rove).

Wikipedia page on the issue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_privilege

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

23. Thanks.

[TheBlackAdder]

35. Does it also apply to ex-employees?

[PoliticAverse]

37. Yes, covering the things they did while they were part of the executive branch.

For a real case see this article on the Bush administration's claim of privilege to stop the compelled
testimony of Karl Rove:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/10/rove.subpoena/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

[L. Coyote]

8. Executive privilege is exerted for executive actions, not campaigns and any old time needed.

The privilege is real and applies to conversations with the president. This assertion is wildly over reaching.

[PoliticAverse]

16. Not just "executive actions", it includes actions by people that advise the President.

It does have limits though, and if the President does assert it for Bannon and the Congress decides to challenge it
the courts may in fact find that Bannon must testify.

[slumcamper]

28. Key point: NOT CAMPAIGNS

DJT was NOT president (executive) during the campaign, so (presumably) no assertion executive privilege can apply to any matters (collusion?) prior actual assumption of executive title and duties.

Thanks, Coyote!

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. Dictators have the right and the ability to obstruct justice...

in fact, if Dictators do it, its not obstruction.

[Angry Dragon]

4. WH playing hide and seek

If no collusion then no reason not to answer questions
Trump is either lying or Trump is lying

[mnmoderatedem]

6. I'm not understanding this

Both Bannon AND the White House have to know they will be subpoenaed if they pull this crap. What's their expectation of what will take place next?

[L. Coyote]

11. Bannon was subpoenaed by the Comm. in quick response, and they still did not answer.

Stall and cover-up, stall and cover-up, guilty as all hell.

[Ccarmona]

7. I Was Thinking Why Were Gowdy & Nunes Pissed

About Bannon’s Stonewalling. It must be that it goes against their narrative that there’s no Russiangate problem, and it was just a Dem PR move. It proves that the WH has something to hide and they scared shitless.

[BigmanPigman]

9. I saw this on DU earlier today and it was even announced on Fux Ruse.

If even Fux calls it out we know it is bad.
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/bannon-tried-to-stonewall-house-panel-on-trump-transition-until-lawmakers-subpoenaed-him-on-the-spot/

[Cha]

10. Will he go to jail?

[Still In Wisconsin]

13. Know what this is kiddies? Heres a hint:

It starts with “ob” and ends with
”struction “

[PoliticAverse]

18. No, it might start with "Contempt" and end with "of Congress" however. n/t

[Blue_true]

14. If Bannon was an insignificant person in the White House, why silence him?

If Bannon can only describe insignificant stuff, why is Trump afraid? When Mueller gets Bannon, it should be talk or go straight to jail.

[Hokie]

15. This won't work with the grand jury

If Bannon refuses to answer questions before the grand jury he will be subject to a contempt citation from the overseeing judge.

[ProudLib72]

17. Where's Sarah? I need Sarah to 'splain this to me! So confused right now!

[L. Coyote]

21. Indeed, give us another nothing burger Sarah.

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[ProudLib72]

25. "Well, he didn't want Steve to tell about the special yoga exercises

he was teaching Donnie, the ones Scaramucci alluded to a few months ago."

[L. Coyote]

20. A two subpoena day for Bannon, at least in the news. Bad day for Trump's presidency. End is near.

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[jalan48]

26. Isn't this going to get played out in the Supreme Court?

Trump will invoke Executive Privilege and today's SCOTUS may side with him.

[L. Coyote]

31. Executive privilege does not apply to the campaign and Russian contacts then.

It may apply to firing Comey, but Mueller doesn't need Bannon for that conviction, Trump has implicated himself sufficiently. Executive privilege did not exist until Trump was sworn in.

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[jalan48]

38. Thanks for the info. Glad to hear it.

[triron]

27. Wasn't Bannon also embedded in the campaign?

Seems like a wealth of information available from him.

[L. Coyote]

32. For a while, not early on though.

In August 2016, Bannon was named the chief executive officer of Trump's 2016 presidential bid. Appointed Chief Strategist in the Trump administration, he left this position on August 18, 2017 wiki

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[George II]

29. Witness tampering and clearly obstruction of justice.

[Wwcd]

36. Man, why keep digging that hole? Put the shovel down already!

Charges are piling up & those s.o.b.'s have to know they are screwed.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

30. How is that legal?!

[benld74]

34. Bannon signed with Mueller

Who told him
NO answers or else
Schiff too smart, and is playing for MSM

[L. Coyote]

39. Bannon Will 'Tell All' To Mueller

Hilarious misspoken tidbit, testified 9 1/2 "days" ... good one Rachel

Jan 16, 2018 --- Betsy Woodruff, political reporter for The Daily Beast, talks with Rachel Maddow about breaking news that Steve Bannon will speak freely to special counsel Robert Mueller because the executive privilege that prevented him from speaking to House Intel does not apply to a Mueller grand jury.

[L. Coyote]

40. Bannon Subpoenaed By House Intel As Mueller Subpoena Looms

Jan 16, 2018 --- The New York Times reports Robert Mueller subpoenaed Bannon last week – just as the House Intelligence Committee subpoenaed him today. Plus, The Daily Beast reports Bannon will "tell all" to the Mueller team. Harry Litman and Mieke Eoyang join Lawrence O’Donnell.

[L. Coyote]

41. Rep. Adam Schiff says if the White House continues to prevent witnesses from answering questions ...

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[triron]

42. knr

AP just confirmed this.