[KootenayFlamesFan]

Breitbart News Network, the far-right media outlet that heralded President Trump’s rise and was once led by his top White House strategist, is owned in part by a wealthy conservative family that poured millions into propelling Trump into office, the company’s chief executive acknowledged Friday.

The site’s financial backing from the Mercers further cements the family’s status as some of the most influential financiers of the Trump era. The news comes as Breitbart has enjoyed a higher profile within the White House press corps.

The Mercers’ investment in Breitbart has been previously reported by The Washington Post and other news outlets, but the family’s role as partial owners of the organization has never been officially confirmed. Larry Solov, Breitbart’s president and CEO, shared the company’s ownership information with a panel of congressional journalists as part of a process to get Capitol Hill press credentials for Breitbart reporters.

Solov also said that the site’s former executive chairman, White House senior strategist Stephen K. Bannon, resigned from the company in a phone call after the election.

But Solov said he could not provide documentation of Bannon’s separation from Breitbart.

Neither White House officials nor a spokeswoman for Breitbart and the Mercers returned requests for comment.

On Friday, Solov said Bannon currently has no editorial or financial relationship with Breitbart.

But the committee asked Solov to provide a document or statement from Bannon attesting to his separation from the company.

“We’re trying to help get you credentials,” said Billy House of Bloomberg News, chairman of the committee. But House added: “We’re just a little concerned — and I’m not saying this is the case — but what you’re telling us could also be a way to evade actually having Mr. Bannon state that he is no longer with Breitbart.”

Solov said he could not agree to the committee’s request.

“I can only do what I can do. I don’t have control over Mr. #Bannon,” Solov said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=.b02471d32547