Carter Page said Tuesday that he has never spoken with President Trump in any way, including email or text, and that any surveillance warrant issued on him is an abuse of power.
“What I’ve seen thus far is just complete ridiculousness,” Mr. Page said on ABC News.
He is a former adviser to the Trump campaign, but his role has been minimized by those that worked on the campaign. He also said that he never had any interaction with Mr. Trump prior to any of the surveillance information coming out, and has not spoken with him at all during this process.
Republicans released a memo Friday, drafted by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, California Republican, regarding the use of an unverified dossier to gather surveillance warrants on some members of Mr. Trump’s campaign team, including Mr. Page. Democrats say this allegation is based on cherry-picked information from the source documents, and their memo will provide clarification.
When asked about his background, including allegations he gave documents to a person suspected of espionage, Mr. Page said the reports are embellished, or false.
“I was teaching a course down Broadway here at NYU and I told them a couple of things about what I was talking about in my course and I gave them notes, or documents, that I gave my students,” Mr. Page explained of his exchange with this person.
He said his background as a consultant working with foreign clients has also been exaggerated.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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