Ex-Trump aide Carter Page denies colluding with Russians during campaign
Carter Page, one of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy advisers during the campaign, was reluctant to say whether he cared about Russian meddling in the election Saturday, claiming the “bigger meddling” are the “false narratives” building against him and possibly others.
The embattled Page appeared on CNN and dodged multiple questions from host Michael Smerconish about whether Russian meddling in the election matters to him. Page eventually conceded that “if” there was “indisputable evidence” that Russians meddled in the election, he would be concerned.
The interview came hours after CNN reported Russia tried to use Trump campaign advisers to infiltrate the election. The FBI obtained a FISA court warrant to monitor Page during the election.
Page emphasized that the most important meddling are the attacks against him and others over alleged Russian ties.
“If there was any meddling in the election, all the false narratives out there are really the meddling,” he said Saturday.
Page, who left the campaign in September, appeared in the “Trump Dossier” created by a former British intelligence operative working for a U.S. political research group.
Page, defending himself against mounting allegations of his contacts with Russians, said everything he ever discussed was public information.
“I was never -- nothing I was ever asked to do, or no information I was ever asked for, was anything beyond what you could see on CNN,” Page said.
Page, who left the campaign in September 2016, isn’t Mr. Trump’s only top aide to leave amid Russia questions. Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, left in February after less than a month on the job after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
The House and Senate intelligence committees are investigating Russian meddling in the election.