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Steve Bannon strikes deal in Mueller probe: reports

WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon has struck a deal to be interviewed by a special prosecutor in the Robert Mueller investigation, according to reports.

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In the deal, Bannon will be interviewed by prosecutors rather than in front of the grand jury, according to CNN.

Bannon, President Donald Trump's chief strategist, was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury last week. He is the first in Trump's inner circle to be interviewed in the investigation. It is unclear when the interview will take place.

Bannon was in Washington on Tuesday to testify before the House Intelligence Committee in its ongoing investigation of Russian meddling. The closed-door meeting was expected to focus on Bannon's time as Trump's campaign chief.

During the 12 hour testimony, Bannon's attorneys were relaying the interview to the White House, according to The Associated Press.

Bannon attorney Bill Burck corresponded with the White House counsel's office asking if his client could answer the questions he was being asked. The office told Burck that Bannon should not to talk about his work on Trump's transition team and his time in the White House, according to The Associated Press.

Trump named Bannon, the former chairman of the conservative news website Breitbart News, as his campaign chief in August 2016. Bannon left the Trump administration in August 2017.

He rejoined Breitbart News after his departure, but announced last week that he would be leaving again amid criticism of his comments to "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" author Michael Wolff.