WaPo: FBI Got FISA Warrant To Surveil Trump Aide Carter Page

Carter Page, an adviser to U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, speaks at the graduation ceremony for the New Economic School in Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 8, 2016. Page is a former investment banke... Carter Page, an adviser to U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, speaks at the graduation ceremony for the New Economic School in Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 8, 2016. Page is a former investment banker who previously worked in Russia. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) MORE LESS
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The FBI obtained an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor the communications of Carter Page, a campaign aide to President Donald Trump, for its probe into any connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, the Washington Post reported Tuesday night, citing unnamed law enforcement and other American officials.

The FBI received the secret order after arguing to the FISA court that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as a Russian agent, the officials told the Washington Post. However, Page has not been accused of committing any crimes.

He denied wrongdoing to the Washington Post.

“This confirms all of my suspicions about unjustified, politically motivated government surveillance,” Page told the Post on Tuesday “I have nothing to hide.”

Page left the Trump campaign in September following a Yahoo News report that U.S. intelligence officials were investigating whether he met with Russian officials during a July trip to Moscow. At the time, Page denied that he met with Russian officials mentioned in reports.

Months later, Buzzfeed News reported in early April that Page met with and gave documents to a Russian intelligence official in 2013. Page confirmed that he gave information to a Russian agent, but said that only shared “basic immaterial information and publicly available research documents.”

The FBI’s application for a FISA warrant noted Page’s meeting with a Russian intelligence official in 2013, according to the Washington Post.

Read the full Washington Post report here.

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Notable Replies

  1. On NBC.com Page says he’s happy about the warrant. Somehow it justifies what trump tweeted about his wires being tapped…

    Jeebus on several crackers.

    Happy about being investigated by the FBI for collusion with the Russians. That’s a strange “happy” to me.

  2. Probable cause is far from conviction. He is innocent until proven guilty.

    Now, let’s start a pool on when that will be.

  3. I had forecasted trump would be gone by October 1st… Page is a putz so I’ll hafta consider this a while…


    mid summer…June 1

  4. Another Piece of the Trump Puzzle: The Carter Page FISA Warrant

    Josh asks:

    The oddity of Page is that he certainly wasn’t operating under deep cover. Indeed, he paraded his pro-Russian views widely. In other words, it’s not like Page was a mole - the most Russophobic advisor who turned out to be in Moscow’s employ. Page was right out in the open as a major critic of US policy who believed and said to all who’d listen that the US should be far friendlier to Russia. Other oddities are his constant press appearances. Why did he go on Chris Hayes show a few weeks ago? Why has he made so many press appearances, almost all of which have been handled weirdly and badly? Why hasn’t he just lawyered up and shut up? For that matter, if Page was operating as a Russian agent, why would he travel to Moscow to give a speech harshly critical of the US a week before the convention? Needless to say, that’s certainly going to draw attention. It’s all a mystery.

    Why is all of this so public? The whole thing, the investigation, the Nunes charade - all public. The bombing of Syria, that all played out in public including the evidence of atrocities. Stone is talking to Guccifer 2.0 and doesn’t even care to hide it either, not at the time and not even as recently as last month. He publicly boasts on twitter about his back channel. Why?

  5. Avatar for pshah pshah says:

    This confirms all of my suspicions about unjustified, politically motivated government surveillance,” Page told the Post on Tuesday “I have nothing to hide.”

    This just confirms my suspicions that he’s too stupid to know what he ought to be hiding.

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