Steve Bannon backs away from remarks

Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon on Sunday sought to back away from incendiary remarks quoted in an explosive new book that have landed him in hot water with the president he helped elect.

Bannon has found himself in dire straits since excerpts of Paul Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" -- an explosive behind-the-scenes account that questions the president's fitness for office -- were first published on Wednesday.

He has been abandoned by financial patrons, condemned by erstwhile political allies and ridiculed by Trump himself over his reported comments in the book, which he has not denied making.

In the book, Bannon is quoted as saying a pre-election meeting involving son Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer was "treasonous," and that prosecutors investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia would "crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV."

In a statement to the Axios news website, Bannon, who was a senior Trump adviser until he was ousted in August, said: "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."