AP Top News: Ex-adviser's ties to Russia, Trump campaign draw scrutiny
Source: Associated Press
By JULIE PACE
19 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, President Donald Trump and his advisers have tried to distance themselves from Carter Page, a little-known investment banker who briefly served as a foreign policy adviser on the Republican's presidential campaign.
This week, Page — who is at the center of the swirling controversy over Trump associates' connections to Russia — painted himself as a recurrent visitor to Trump Tower, the New York skyscraper that housed Trump's campaign offices.
"I have frequently dined in Trump Grill, had lunch in Trump Café, had coffee meetings in the Starbucks at Trump Tower, attended events and spent many hours in campaign headquarters on the fifth floor last year," Page wrote in a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia's hacking of Democratic groups and possible campaign contacts with Moscow.
Page tied his presence in Trump Tower to the president's unverified assertion the President Barack Obama had the building wiretapped, though Page provided no evidence to back up that assertion. Page's comments were the latest wrinkle in the swirling controversy surrounding Trump associates' connections to Russia. The New York Times has reported that Page is among the Trump associates whose potential contacts with Russia are being investigated by the FBI. Congressional committees probing Russia's hacking during the election and Trump campaign ties have asked Page to preserve materials related to their investigations.
Trump's White House and campaign advisers dismiss Page as an inconsequential figure who has never met the president. He wasn't on the campaign payroll and severed ties with the Trump team before the election.
Read more: https://apnews.com/d2d1005f20c34b468622f0cf11e2b33a/Ex-adviser's-ties-to-Russia,-Trump-campaign-draw-scrutiny
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