Former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page on Thursday could not say definitively whether he spoke to Russian officials during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign last year about the possibility of easing U.S. sanctions against Russia.
“Absolutely not,” Page said initially, when asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.
But Page, who has repeatedly changed his tune on the extent of his ties to Russia, then claimed that he could not recall.
“I don’t remember. We’ll see what comes out in this [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] transcript. I don’t recall every single word that I ever said. But I would never make any offer or intimate anything,” he said. “Something may have come up in a conversation. I have no recollection, and there’s nothing specifically that I would have done that would have given people that impression.”
When Stephanopoulos pressed him on why he could not give a definitive answer, Page again said that he could not remember.
“Someone may have brought it up. I have no recollection,” Page said.
Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that the FBI obtained a FISA court order last summer to investigate Page, as part of its probe investigating Russian influence in last year’s presidential election and ties between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials.
Page previously denied being part of the investigation, but when asked about the report on Wednesday, he would neither confirm nor deny it.
“I have nothing to say about any ongoing investigations,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I have no comment,” he added later, when asked if FBI officials had interviewed him.
Page was fired from Trump’s campaign last September, following reports that he discussed the issue of lifting sanctions with Russian officials. He also traveled to the country and gave several public speeches criticizing U.S. policy toward Russia.
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