Carter Page seen Thu., Nov. 2, 2017.
AP
Last Updated Nov 6, 2017 9:50 PM EST
The House Intelligence Committee posted the transcript of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page Monday night, after interviewing him last week, as part of its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and any collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia.
Page, who testified Thursday for seven hours, told the committee he had contact with a high-level Russian official while on a trip to Russia last year.
It was, he told the committee, the only trip to Russia he took during the presidential campaign, in July 2016. During that trip, he said, “I made it perfectly clear that I’m not representing [Donald Trump] or the campaign.” (page 12 of transcript)
He was speaking at the New Economic School, in Moscow. According to the transcript, Page told the committee he “briefly said hello to” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich after he had delivered his speech. Dvorkovich had also just finished speaking at the school. Page told the Intelligence Committee that the two had just exchanged pleasantries. “It was sort of best wishes, you know, and that’s about it,” he said.
Page also told the committee he has never had a conversation with President Trump. “I have never spoken with him at any time directly in my life,” he said.
Asked whether he had informed the Trump campaign that he was going to Moscow, Page said he had mentioned the trip and “sent a note around to a few of the members of our team” to apprise them of his trip to Moscow. The people he said he informed were Hope Hicks, J.D. Gordon and Corey Lewandowski.
Page also said that George Papadopoulos “was in some of those group sessions we had,” and he said he had been included on some of the same emails as Papadopoulos. He said he has never spoken to or emailed with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who has also been under scrutiny by investigators.
Page also told the panel he had informed some members of the Trump campaign about the trip and he had planned to share information with them about what he had learned.
Page has often been contradictory about whom he met on the trip, but his testimony Thursday was under oath.
Page says he had no personal information about Russian election interference.
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