Trump's former chief strategist subpoenaed

Mr. Bannon, former chief strategist to US President Donald Trump, received a subpoena from the special prosecutor last week.Robert Mueller, to testify before a grand jury about possible ties between Trump aides and Russia,New York TimesJanuary 16, citing an anonymous source.

This is the first time heMueller used a subpoena to seek information from a person close to Mr. Trump sincein charge of investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

Some legal experts say the subpoenas are a sign that Mr. Mueller's investigation is intensifying, others say it is simply a negotiating tactic on his part.Mueller to force Mr. Bannon to cooperate.

Maybe heMueller will allow Mr. Bannon to avoid appearing before a grand jury if he agrees to answer investigators' questions.about Trump's aides' ties to Russia and about Trump's behavior.

However, it is unclear why heMueller treats himBannon is different from dozens of other Trump administration officials. HeMuellerquestioned these officials in the past few months but did not issue subpoenas.

The former White House chief strategist testified before the House Intelligence Committee on January 16 in a closed session, which is also investigating allegations of Russian interference in the US election and the Trump campaign's ties to Moscow.

Once considered the chief architect of Trump's election campaign, Bannon was fired last August, reportedly for expressing views contrary to the President's stance on North Korea. Mr. BannonOn January 9, he also had to resign as executive chairman of Breitbart News, a right-wing news site that supports conservative ideology.