The Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed documents and testimony from former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page as part of its investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, NBC News reported Tuesday.
The subpoena comes a week after Page said that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right to avoid turning documents over to the committee, citing concerns that the requested information was out of the bounds of lawmakers’ mandate and part of an effort to lead him into a “false testimony/perjury trap.”
Spokespeople for the Senate Intelligence Committee told TPM they had no comment.
Asked about a potential subpoena, Page sent TPM a text message that said he was busy “dealing with more relevant matters today (such as my defamation case in U.S. District Court of the Southern District of NY, cited herein), rather than being bothered by the latest damaging lies and leaks.”
Page was referring to a 400-plus page complaint he recently filed against several news organizations for publishing what he described as “highly-damaging, life-threatening” reports about his contacts with Russian officials.
Pressed to confirm whether he’d received a subpoena, Page replied, “LIKE I SAID, I’M DEALING WITH MORE RELEVANT THINGS. ITS LESS OF A ‘NO COMMENT’ AND MORE OF A ‘NO INTEREST IN TALKING ABOUT IRRELEVANCIES.’”
Page previously told TPM he was eager to testify publicly before the committee, but is not willing either to offer private testimony or provide documents. Page believes that U.S. intelligence agencies have obtained all the information they need to know about him through a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order, which the FBI reportedly took out to monitor Page’s communications shortly after he left the Trump campaign.
Page has not retained legal counsel to help him navigate the congressional and federal Russia investigations so far.
