Carter Page
Carter Page, a former foreign policy advisor to the Donald Trump presidential campaign, has become a fan favorite in the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Page seems to like to talk, to television reporters at least. And at all times he seems shady as all get out. In a scandal that’s really about dark deeds and secret meetings, Page is kind of a bright, indiscreet access point to understand the surprisingly competent Nazis who managed to take over the country.
It works well on television, but under the intense glare of F.B.I. investigators and Congressional lawyers, Page’s shtick is unsustainable. The House Intelligence Committee just published a 243-page transcript of Page’s closed-door meeting with investigators. Predictably, Page had less to say to the lawyers than he does to Chris Hayes. From Bloomberg:
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The transcript of the six-hour interview confirms that Page invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against turning over to the panel certain documents — including those involving his July 2016 trip to Russia — for two reasons.
“Number one, there could be risks that the information is not comprehensive,” said Page, under questioning from the panel’s top Democrat, Adam Schiff of California.
He added that the information already had been “illegally hacked from my computer systems” and “based on some of these proceedings of the past year will not match up.”
Shorter Page: I can’t turn over documents because they might show that I’m a lying weasel and, upon reflection, that’s probably be bad for me.
I am most interested at how, even now, Page seems to be doing everything he can to inoculate Jeff Sessions, while simultaneously ensuring that Jeff Sessions becomes more of a target in these investigations.
Page also acknowledged that in June 2016 he mentioned “in passing” to then-Senator Jeff Sessions, a Trump foreign policy adviser, that he might be taking a trip to Moscow — but that it wasn’t connected to his unpaid role in the campaign.
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At this point, both Page and George Papadopoulos have now confirmed that Jeff Sessions was actively aware that the two aides were hanging around Russian officials. Sessions can testify that he didn’t think those meetings were important, but folks, he’s gonna have to testify.
Sessions is neck deep in this, and as the water rushes in, he’ll have to decide if he’s going to save himself or take all the hits. Sessions is willing to put up with it now because his position as Attorney General affords him the best opportunity to fight his war against non-white Americans.
But if Sessions ever becomes so compromised that he can’t keep his job anyway, one wonders if he will go down alone, or take his boss down with him.
That’s all far down the line. For now, the investigations are still focused on the smaller fish like Carter Page. Page, at least when talking to the House Committee, seems to know what his role is in this whole mess:
“Unfortunately, I am the biggest embarrassment surrounding the campaign,” he told the panel.
Accurate. At least so far.
What Carter Page Told House Russia Investigators [Bloomberg News]
Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.