Steve Bannon urged two senior FBI officials to put their differences with the White House “behind them” at a meeting in 2017, on the day after Donald Trump asked James Comey, the then head of the FBI, to pledge his loyalty to the president. The exchange, which occurred on 28 January 2017 and has never been publicly disclosed, offers new insights into the ways in which senior White House officials, including Bannon, Trump’s closest adviser at the time, sought to ensure the FBI saw itself as an ally of the White House. Trump dined alone with Comey at the White House on the evening of 27 January, after Yates’s disclosure to McGahn, and asked the FBI director for loyalty. Bannon had his own meeting with the two senior FBI officials the next day. While Bannon may have viewed his remarks as innocuous, legal analysts said it was highly unusual for a senior White House official to make such remarks to the FBI officials, especially at a time when the White House was facing scrutiny.

Source: The Guardian May 14, 2019 06:00 UTC