Former Trump aide Carter Page denies working as Kremlin adviser: 'It's so ridiculous'
WASHINGTON – Carter Page, a former campaign aide to President Donald Trump, denied assertions leveled by federal investigators in secret surveillance court documents that he was collaborating with the Russian government to interfere with the 2016 election.Â
“This is so ridiculous,” Page said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “I’ve never been an agent of a foreign power.”
Page’s denial came a day after the Justice Department released more than 400 pages of documents in response to lawsuits by USA TODAY and other media organizations, marking the first time the government has released applications seeking wiretaps of an American under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Investigators said that they had collected evidence that “the Russian Government’s efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential election were being coordinated with Page and perhaps other individuals associated with†Trump’s campaign.Â
“Totally false,” Page said.  “I might have participated in a few meetings. It’s really spin.”
More: Justice Department says it’s considering public disclosure of Carter Page surveillance order
More: FBI releases FISA records on Carter Page surveillance
More: Who is former Trump adviser Carter Page and why is he at the center of the Nunes memo?
The records confirm that the FBI based its surveillance requests in part on the work of Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer hired by a research firm working for Clinton. But agents disclosed to the court that Steele “was likely looking for information that could be used to discredit†Trump’s campaign.
And the records show the FBI had broader suspicions – and more evidence – about Page’s possible ties to the Russian government. In applying for permission to wiretap him, investigators wrote that Page “has relationships with Russian Government officials, including Russian intelligence officers.â€
Contributing: Brad Heath
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