Carter Page can’t rule out that he talked sanctions with Russian officials
Carter Page, the former foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign who was monitored by the FBI, suggested Thursday that conversations he had with Russian officials may have included talks about lifting U.S. sanctions on Russia.
In an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Page first denied having suggested to Russian officials that Trump would be open to easing sanctions.
“Absolutely not,” he said, adding: “I never offered that. No, nothing along those lines. Absolutely not. I mean, it may — topics — I don’t remember. We’ll see what comes out in this FISA transcript.”
But when Stephanopoulos pushed Page, Page said “something may have come up in a conversation,” before adding: “I have no recollection, and there is nothing specifically that I would have done that would have given people that impression, George.”
Stephanopoulos asked whether Page could say “without equivocation” that he did not discuss easing Russian sanctions.
“Someone may have brought it up,” Page responded. “I have no recollection, and if it was, it was not something I was offering or that someone was asking for.”
Page told Stephanopoulos he was “absolutely sure” he did not discuss WikiLeaks’ release of leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee or from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the FBI obtained a FISA Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Actwarrant last summer to monitor Page’s communications as part of an ongoing investigation into whether Trump’s campaign had any contacts with Russia. Page has dismissed the report, saying Tuesday that it was a politically motivated attack and saying Thursday that many public facts regarding the situation amount to “false evidence.”
Since Page left the campaign in August, Trump campaign staffers have publicly distanced themselves and the campaign from Page, downplaying his role in the campaign and occasionally denying that he served as a foreign policy adviser at all. On Thursday, Page said that he had remained “in light contact” with members of Trump’s presidential campaign from August through the inauguration, but that he did not discuss anything substantive.
Page, who has repeatedly refused to say who brought him onto the Trump campaign, again declined to say Thursday.