Carter Page, named as foreign policy advisor by Trump, drew attention with July 2016 visit to Russia
Developments on Day 90 of the Trump Administration:
Trump-Russia: Advisor Page’s Trip to Moscow Alerted FBI
The New York Times explains the origins of the investigation of links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, citing a July 2016 trip to Moscow by Trump’s foreign policy advisor Carter Page which alerted the FBI.
The FBI had taken notice of Page in 2013 when they discovered that a Russian spy was trying to recruit the businessman. However, it was last summer’s three-day vsit, including a speech at a prestigious Moscow institute expressing support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, that galvanized an inquiry.
The FBI eventually obtained a warrant from the top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in October, allowing surveillance of Page and Russian officials, some of whom were in contact with other Trump associates. Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort was already under criminal investigation over payments from a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.
The inquiry soon had intercepts of Russian officials discussing Page and other members of the Trump team.
