On Saturday, the FBI released several redacted documents related to the wiretapping of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, in which it was alleged he acted as an “agent of a foreign power.”
Carter Page was accused of being an “agent of a foreign power” but he insists it’s all a “spin”
In an interview on Sunday, Page responded to the accusations against him by downplaying them as a “spin” and calling them “ridiculous.”
"It's really spin," says former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page as @jaketapper questions him about advising the Kremlin #CNNSOTU https://t.co/zCnLfKnytb https://t.co/1yLhCn8DR3
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 22, 2018
“This is so ridiculous it’s just beyond words,” Page told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I’ve never been an agent of a foreign power by any stretch of the imagination.”
CNN's @JakeTapper: Is it not a possibility that Russians were trying to recruit you?
Carter Page: "It's totally unreasonable" #CNNSOTU https://t.co/b9WTpBanDp https://t.co/bz3IMQ4auu
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 22, 2018
He added, “It’s literally a complete joke.”
When directly asked if he ever advised the Kremlin, Page admitted that he attended the 2013 G-20 Summit in Russia and just prior to the summit he “might have participated in a few meetings that a lot of people, including people from the Obama administration, were sitting in on.”
“It’s really spin. I mean, I sat in on some meetings,” Page explained. “But to call me an adviser, I think, is way over the top.”
Tapper then read from a 2013 letter written by Page in which he said, “Over the past half-year I have had the privilege to serve as an informal adviser to the staff of the Kremlin in preparation for the presidency of the G-20 Summit next month.”
“This is really nothing. Just an attempt to distract from the real crimes that are shown in this misleading document,” Page said.
Page’s bizarre television interview comes only a day after the FBI released redacted versions of the top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance warrant application from October 2016, and its numerous renewals thereafter. The documents were disclosed by the Trump administration on Saturday after the New York Times and other news organizations obtained the documents through Freedom of Information Act lawsuits.
“This application targets Carter Page,” the document read. “The FBI believes Page has been the subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian government.”
One line in particular, which started off redacted, finished with, “undermine and influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election in violation of U.S. criminal law. Mr. Page is a former foreign policy adviser to a candidate for U.S. president.”
For months Republicans of the House Intelligence Committee led by California Rep. Devin Nunes have railed against Democrats and the FBI, and have claimed that Page’s FISA warrant was unlawfully obtained. House Republicans repeatedly asserted that the FBI relied on the dossier authored by former MI6 spy Christopher Steele.
The New York Times explained:
The application shows that the F.B.I. told the court it believed that the person who hired Mr. Steele was looking for dirt to discredit Mr. Trump. But it added that based on Mr. Steele’s previous reporting history with the F.B.I., in which he had “provided reliable information,” the bureau believed his information cited in the application “to be credible.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has tweeted endlessly about the ongoing Russia investigation, something he has dubbed the “Rigged Witch Hunt” against him.
.@PeteHegseth on @FoxNews “Source #1 was the (Fake) Dossier. Yes, the Dirty Dossier, paid for by Democrats as a hit piece against Trump, and looking for information that could discredit Candidate #1 Trump. Carter Page was just the foot to surveil the Trump campaign…” ILLEGAL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2018
Andrew McCarthy – “I said this could never happen. This is so bad that they should be looking at the judges who signed off on this stuff, not just the people who gave it. It is so bad it screams out at you.” On the whole FISA scam which led to the rigged Mueller Witch Hunt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2018
Looking more & more like the Trump Campaign for President was illegally being spied upon (surveillance) for the political gain of Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC. Ask her how that worked out – she did better with Crazy Bernie. Republicans must get tough now. An illegal Scam!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2018
Congratulations to @JudicialWatch and @TomFitton on being successful in getting the Carter Page FISA documents. As usual they are ridiculously heavily redacted but confirm with little doubt that the Department of “Justice” and FBI misled the courts. Witch Hunt Rigged, a Scam!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2018
The Rigged Witch Hunt, headed by the 13 Angry Democrats (and now 4 more have been added, one who worked directly for Obama W.H.), seems intent on damaging the Republican Party’s chances in the November Election. This Democrat excuse for losing the ‘16 Election never ends!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2018
