Sessions and Page are part of the Trump campaign's troubling connection to Russian Federation, and they have a connection to each other.
The FBI investigation into the Trump camp's contacts with Russian Federation began in July. Most of similar investigations do not necessarily result to criminal charges. Its story is based on interviews with law enforcement and USA officials who spoke on the condition that they remain anonymous.
The downgrading of the importance of Page is typical of Trump camp tactics. Page has previously worked as an investment banker in Moscow, and campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks has been known to describe his role as mostly "informal". He was named to a five-member Trump foreign policy team in March 2016, a time when virtually no one in the foreign policy establishment wanted anything to do with Trump.
Page also suggested that media articles written about his alleged ties to the Kremlin had a bigger impact on the 2016 presidential election than the WikiLeaks release of the emails of DNC staffers and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta - leaks that he said Russian Federation may have orchestrated.
In an interview Tuesday, Page said that he had "nothing to hide" and spouted off some nonsense about how the surveillance is "unjustified" and "politically motivated".
Page then compared the FBI's surveillance of him to the eavesdropping the agency and the Justice Department did of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
The FBI, as well as the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, are investigating whether Russian Federation meddled in the US election past year and whether anyone within the Trump campaign coordinating with them in doing so.
There have been multiple reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation went to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and attempted to obtain a warrant to surveil members of the Trump campaign suspected of making contact with Russian officials. And so ever since basically the summer, the end of the summer, you've seen the administration really distance itself from Page.
International Monetary Fund raises global growth forecast, warns against protectionism
It was a rare upward revision to the growth forecast - the first in two years - which has been consistently disappointing. Furthermore, the Washington-based institution also raised concerns against a relaxation of financial regulation.
However, Comey declined to comment during the hearing about any individuals, including Page.
An application for electronic surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act need not show evidence of a crime. The FBI is trying to identify if the campaign collaborated with the Russian Authorities to swing the election in the favor of Trump. The court first issued a 90-day warrant, which was subsequently renewed, the Post reported.
On Tuesday, Page dismissed what he called "the dodgy dossier" of false allegations.
Page has denied such a meeting occurred, saying he has never met Sechin in his life and that he wants to testify before Congress to clear his name.
"I have not, since the inauguration, I have not spoken with anyone", said Page.
But we're then confronted with the importance of the reporting itself: a foreign-policy adviser to the president of the United States was investigated as a possible agent of Russian Federation, while Russia was illegally intervening in the campaign on the president's behalf.
CNN is working to confirm The Washington Post's story.
Comments