The White House did not advise former chief strategist Steve Bannon how to answer questions from the House Intelligence Committee this week, chief of staff John Kelly confirmed.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked Kelly during an interview if Bannon, who was ousted from his White House role last August, was receiving direction from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue during Tuesday's testimony.
"No. no. Steve has had very, very little contact with the White House since he left," Kelly said, when asked if Bannon invoked executive privilege during certain lines of questioning. "I know Steve a little bit, not very well. He left the White House and has certainly never returned to the White House. With the exception of a few phone calls here and there, very, very little contact with the White House. I certainly have never spoken to him since he left."
The Associated Press reported earlier Wednesday that Bannon's attorney was relaying questions to the White House as Bannon was asked them during the closed-door interview with the aforementioned House panel. The attorney was told by the White House counsel's office, according to the AP, that Bannon should not discuss any work he did during Trump's transition or while he worked in the West Wing.
Bannon has made recent headlines for what he told the author of a tell-all book, which painted a chaotic picture of the early days of Trump's administration. Bannon's comments were critical of Trump and members of his family.
Kelly also spoke about his role at the White House, which started when he was hired last summer to replace Reince Priebus.
"The day after I took over, we fundamentally focused on better staff work, stop this foolish backbiting leaking, which has all but stopped, and serve the president," Kelly said. "To serve him well, he succeeds. Whether you voted for him or not, whether you like him or not, if he succeeds, the nation succeeds."
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