The House Intelligence Committee broke an agreement with the White House over the scope of questions it would ask Steve Bannon during his testimony Tuesday, CNBC reports.
The White House believed it had reached a deal with the House panel Friday to limit the committee's questions to Bannon's knowledge of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, of which he was chairman, CNBC reports.
The White House did not want Bannon testifying about activities during the transition (November through January) or his short tenure as chief strategist, which ended in August.
The news comes amid reports that Bannon's attorney, William Burck, was communicating with the White House during Bannon's testimony in real time about the questions he was being asked to answer.
The White House directed Bannon's silence during that exchange.
"We said, 'Hey, hey, pump the brakes,'" a WH official told CNBC. "We said to Bannon, 'Don't answer those questions because we haven't agreed to that scope under the process.'"
Bannon's refusal to answer those questions, citing executive privilege, led the House Intel panel to slap him with a subpoena on the spot.
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