The FBI received a secret court order in the last summer to oversee the communication of the adviser to the presidential candidate Donald Trump. It's evidence that the Department of Justice sought to surveil Trump campaign figures using intel resources, but not necessarily that they had real evidence and/or a legitimate "reason to believe" that Trump campaign officials were in touch with Russian agents.
Adam Entous, national security reporter for The Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about the Post's breaking report that former Donald Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page was the subject of a FISA warrant as a possible agent of a foreign... The warrant was issued last summer, according to USA officials, as part of the investigation into the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russian Federation. Criminal charges may stem from approved FISA warrants.
Page himself told PBS NewsHour in February that he was a "junior member of the [Trump] campaign's foreign policy advisory group".
Carter Page has personally denied any foul play in his dealing with Trump's campaign or with Russian Federation.
The Post said the application for the surveillance targeting Page included a lengthy declaration that laid out the investigators' basis for believing Page was an agent of the Russian government and knowingly engaged in clandestine intelligence activities on behalf of Moscow, according to sources in Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "I have nothing to hide", The Post quoted Page as saying.
The warrant was granted as the FBI conducted a counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the election, an operation United States intelligence later concluded was ultimately created to help Mr Trump to victory.
The White House rushed to downplay Page's ties to Trump and the campaign.
A former Merrill Lynch investment banker, Page worked out of the company's Moscow office for three years.
Russian Federation notifies U.S. of suspending communication hotline with Pentagon
While threatening further strikes, the USA envoy also said it was time to press on with a political solution to the six-year war. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the Assad regime must be brought into line after last week's chemical gas attack.
Last week, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Adam B. Schiff told MSNBC the panel will hear from Mr. Page "at the appropriate time".
Obtaining a FISA warrant is no easy task and requires the investigating agents to present substantial evidence of probable cause that a person is acting as an agent of a foreign government. The warrant came from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which handles the most sensitive intelligence cases. The newspaper provided no details about what information federal investigators may have obtained as a result of the warrant.
It's premature to say whether the Justice Department investigation will uncover illegal activity.
The FISA court and the orders it hands down are top secret business.
His name surfaced in a dossier or reports on links between the Trump operation and Russian Federation compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.
Page, speaking on CNN as the White House scrambled to distance itself from him, insisted that allegations of impropriety during the 2016 U.S. presidential race were "false evidence against me". Both men have denied this, but Page said he did briefly meet with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich during the trip. A spokesman for Rosneft told Politico in September that the notion that Page met with Sechin was "absurd". While in Moscow, Page met Arkady Dvorkovich, Russia's deputy prime minister.
The CNN host later noted that when it comes to allegations that Russian Federation attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election, Page refuses to believe the USA intelligence community.
These include Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, who is widely considered to be a spy in diplomat's clothing.
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