Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon's comment that a meeting between Trump campaign officials and a group of Russians was "treasonous" focused on President Donald Trump's son and not his former campaign manager, as Bannon now maintains, the author of a book containing the remark said on Monday.
In the book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," Bannon labeled the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower, which Donald Trump Jr. attended, as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic." A British publicist who helped arrange the meeting had said one of the Russians would have damaging information on Trump's presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton.
On Sunday, Bannon retreated from those comments, saying Trump Jr. was a patriot and that he had labeled the actions of Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, as treasonous, not those of the president's son.