Bannon on Hill for Closed-door Interview in Russia Probe

Under threat of subpoena, former White House adviser Steve Bannon arrived on Capitol Hill Thursday to take questions from the House Intelligence Committee behind closed doors.

Republicans and Democrats subpoenaed Bannon last month after he declined to answer several questions before the committee as part of its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. His return has been put off several times, as Congress and the White House disagreed over the terms of the interview. Lawmakers headed into the meeting ahead of Bannon's entrance appeared unsure if he would arrive.

At issue is whether Bannon can talk about the presidential transition, his time at the White House and communications with President Donald Trump since he left last summer. The White House has tried to put limits on what Bannon will say, with Democrats saying two weeks ago that the committee was told Bannon would only answer 14 "yes" or "no" questions. That wasn't enough for either party, with Republicans maintaining the subpoena and threatening to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress.

The final terms of Thursday's interview are unclear. Walking past the cameras, Bannon declined to say whether he would answer all of the committee's questions. He's expected to face questions about key events during his time in the White House, including Trump's firings of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former FBI Director James Comey.

Bannon is one of the committee's few remaining witnesses in its Russia probe, which Republicans on the panel have said they want to wrap up early this year.

The Senate intelligence committee is running a separate investigation into the Russian meddling. The Senate panel hasn't yet spoken to Bannon, according to a source familiar with the probe. The person declined to be named because the interview schedule isn't public.