OPINION:
Pundits and defenders of the Obama Justice Department took to social media and the airwaves over the weekend to inform the world that Carter Page was the target of a FBI Russian espionage investigation in 2014, but he wasn’t. In fact, it appears as though Page was an FBI informant in that case. He helped the federal government put Russian spies in jail.
We were also told that Page had been the subject of FISA surveillance before October 2016. Was he?
The most honest answer to that question is that we don’t actually know. But, that’s because by nature, FISA warrants are incredibly secret things. One generally doesn’t know a person’s been under surveillance until charges are brought.
Based on the public record however it appears, Carter, was not the subject of a FISA warrant before the Russian dossier motivated warrant of October 2016.
There is only one, anonymously sourced article written in August, 2017 at CNN that suggests Page was subject to secret surveillance prior to October 2016. The reference is buried deep in an article about the Robert Mueller Russia probe:
Page had been the subject of a secret intelligence surveillance warrant since 2014, earlier than had been previously reported, US officials briefed on the probe told CNN.
That allegation is not originally reported or verified by any other news outlet anywhere. It appears in the 61st paragraph of the CNN article. (out of 64) It may be true, but let’s be honest, CNN has gotten it wrong in the past, especially when relying on anonymous sources. (a request for further information on CNN’s claim went unanswered at the time this column was published)
Here’s what we do know about the 2013 incident. Page was caught on tape speaking with foreign agents of the Russian government who were the subject of FISA surveillance in 2013. (This was back in the good old days when FISA warrants were issued for actual foreign agents based on legitimate evidence, not political opposition propaganda.)
The FBI overheard Page while investigating Russian agent Victor Podobnyy. Podobnyy was convicted along with two other Russian nationals in 2015. Page was not charged at that time and as far as we know, he helped the feds build their case against the Russian agents. The feds have never said that Page was the subject of their investigation. Indeed, they’ve gone on the record saying Page cooperated with the investigation that ended with the three Russian nationals behind bars.
Mr. Page has never been arrested of a crime. He has never been charged with a crime.
These facts hardly play into the “Page was a Russian agent” narrative we’ve been led to believe. If he was working with the Russians, why did he help the feds in their case?
So, what do we know about Mr. Page?
We know that he was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He served in the Navy after his graduation for five years including service as an intelligence officer in Morocco. He received an MA in National Security from Georgetown, an MBA from NYU and a PhD from SOAS University in London.
He was an executive in the energy industry and that brought him in contact with Russian businesses and members of the Russian government.He’s said glowing things about Russia and the businesses he was associated with. That seems rather odious considering Vladimir Putin is public enemy #1, but that wasn’t always the case, was it?
In 2012, President Barack Obama ridiculed Mitt Romney for suggesting Russia was a major global adversary. Obama also assured Dimitri Medvedev he’d have “more flexibility” to work with Russia after the 2012 election. Dimitri assured Obama he’d “transmit” the message to Vladimir (Putin).
Back in the halcyon days of the Obama Administration’s first term, Hillary Clinton yucked it up with Russian politicians begging them to reset our relationship. Meanwhile her hubby was raking in the bucks delivering speeches for Russian businesses.
None of these interactions are admirable, in hindsight, but the point is Page’s relationship with Russia was hardly an outlier. The fact that he continued to promote Putin’s government a few years after Obama declared it was no longer cool to do so isn’t entirely outrageous and certainly isn’t a federal crime.
Carter Page could very well be a stooge working on behalf of the Kremlin. We don’t know that. If we operate on what we do know then Carter Page is a graduate of the Naval Academy, a US Navy veteran and a man who assisted the FBI in a case against Russian agents. And at this point has never had a charge of criminal activity leveled against him.
But, when the FISA memo was released, a full-court press was conducted in the media via surrogates, pundits and leaks that whispered to the world that Page was probably a spy and the FBI had good reason to get that FISA warrant on him regardless of the Russian dossier.
One big problem with that, of course, is that the FBI did, in fact, use the Russian dossier and reportedly would never have gotten that FISA warrant without it.
But no matter, sliming Carter Page as a traitor is good politics for those who oppose President Trump.
Sorry Mr. Page. I’m sure if you’re exonerated all will be forgotten and forgiven. Just ask Ray Donovan.
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