Steve Bannon expected to be interviewed as part of Mueller's special counsel probe

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon will meet with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators, according to reports.

CNN reported the development Wednesday — citing a person close Bannon — as did the The Associated Press, which cited a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to speak publicly.

Bannon is expected to be interviewed by prosecutors instead of testifying before a grand jury in the probe of alleged Russian interference into the 2016 election, as well as any potential collusion by Trump's campaign with Moscow. 

It's unclear when the interview will occur.

Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, appeared before the House intelligence committee on Tuesday.

Bannon was a close adviser during Trump's campaign and in his first months in office, before leaving the White House job by what was said to be mutual agreement in August.

He expressed his support for Trump's policies several weeks later in an interview with 60 Minutes despite the parting of ways, and both he and Trump publicly endorsed controversial Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.

But earlier this month Bannon raised the ire of Trump and the White House for comments he made to Michael Wolff, the author of a book highly critical of the president and his family, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. 

They included scathing remarks about Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, for meeting during the campaign with a Russian lawyer who was said to have damaging information on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Lewandowski expected to meet committee

Bannon would walk back a "treasonous" quote detailed in the book, saying on Jan. 7 it was aimed not at Trump Jr., but seasoned political operative Paul Manafort, who is one of four men currently facing charges as part of Mueller's probe.

"Donald Trump, Jr. is both a patriot and a good man. He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around," Bannon said in a statement released to the media.

At the White House on Tuesday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed that questions to Bannon at his House committee appearance were relayed over the phone to unnamed White House counsel.

Sanders said it was a typical process.

"Sometimes they actually have a White House attorney present in the [committee] room," she said. "This time it was something that was relayed via phone and again was following standard procedure for an instance like this and something that will likely happen again on any other number of occasions, not just within this administration but future administrations."

Two other Trump associates, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn, and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, were due to appear before the House panel behind closed doors on Wednesday, congressional sources said.

Committee aides were not immediately available to comment.

The House intelligence committee is conducting one of the two main congressional investigations of the Russia issue, but they been hampered by partisan bickering. The committee is working separately from Mueller.