Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has never been shy about his contempt for Jared Kushner and other members of President Donald Trump's cabinet. But in interviews conducted for a new book set to be released next week, Bannon opened up in a way that reportedly shocked the White House, attacking Trump's eldest son as "treasonous" and declaring that the Russia probe is "all about money laundering."
"You realize where this is going," Bannon, who left his White House post in August to return to his role as chair of Breitbart, told author and journalist Michael Wolff. "This is all about money laundering."
Referring to special counsel Robert Mueller's team of investigators, Bannon added: "Their path to f***ing Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Jr., and Jared Kushner….It's as plain as a hair on your face."
"It goes through Deutsche Bank and all the Kushner shit," Bannon continued, a remark made public amid reports that Mueller subpoenaed Deutsche Bank several months ago in an effort to examine the bank's ties to the Trump family. "The Kushner shit is greasy. They're going to go right through that. They're going to roll those...guys up and say play me or trade me."
Bannon also ripped as "treasonous" a June 2016 meeting Donald Trump Jr. held at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer who promised him "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, and seemed to suggest that Trump may have known about the meeting.
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"The chance that Don Jr. did not walk these Jumos up to his father's office of the 26th floor is zero," Bannon reportedly said.
Mueller's team is "going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV," Bannon went on to predict.
Thus far, four individuals—including Manafort and former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn—have been charged as a result of Mueller's investigation.
In interviews, Trump has suggested that the probe is a "hoax" that will soon come to a close. But Bannon is quoted as suggesting that the president's optimism about the probe is misguided.
"They're sitting on a beach trying to stop a Category Five," Bannon told Wolff.
