A Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee said former White House aide Steve Bannon pushed back on the panel's questioning in part because he viewed it as an attempt to "delegitimize" President Donald Trump's election.
As Politico reported Wednesday evening, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said he has considered issuing a contempt citation for Bannon if the recently-fired Breitbart executive continues to shirk the committee's questions.
"I have contempt for Bannon anyway," King told Politico.
Rep. Tim Rooney (R-FL), one of the managers of the intelligence committee's probe, corroborated King's assessment of Bannon's testimony, saying the one-time Trump campaign manager told the panel their investigation is an attempt "to decertify the last election."
In an interview with Fox News after Bannon's appearance before the committee, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said the former White House aide attempted to invoke a type of executive privilege "that doesn’t exist and that no one’s ever heard of before."