From early on, Carter Page, former Trump Campaign Advisor, has been attached to the whole Trump/Russia/RICO debacle just as Paul Manafort, a Trump campaign manager, was tied to both Russia/Ukraine. And, of course, there is former national security advisor General Michael Flynn.
In late March 2016, while working for the Trump Campaign, Carter Page gave an interview to Bloomberg. Hindsight, being what it is, and given Flynn, this introductory paragraph from Bloomberg sets the stage for what appears to be an interesting philosophical coalescence between Flynn, Page and Manafort:
A globe-trotting American investment banker who's built a career on deals with Russia and its state-run gas company, Carter Page says his business has suffered directly from the U.S. economic sanctions imposed after Russia's escalating involvement in the Ukraine. When Donald Trump named him last week as one of his foreign-policy advisers, Page says his e-mail inbox filled up with positive notes from Russian contacts. “So many people who I know and have worked with have been so adversely affected by the sanctions policy,” Page said in a two-hour interview last week. “There's a lot of excitement in terms of the possibilities for creating a better situation.”
I’m sure there was a lot of excitement. Excitement about all that potential money flowing again, including to Carter Page.
By September, Page was removed from the Trump campaign and later relegated to no-man’s-land (as was Manafort) by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer seeking to distance the administration from Page (and Manafort) when news revealed both were under investigation by the FBI.
Page had been on the FBI's radar since a Russian spy tried to recruit him in 2013, and when he convinced the Trump campaign to allow him to travel to Moscow to give a Russia-friendly speech in July, the FBI took notice and began to dig into connections between Russia and the Trump campaign, The New York Times reports, citing "current and former law enforcement and intelligence officials."
*****
Paul Manafort, then Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, was already under criminal investigation in connection with payments from a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine. (link to NY Times: www.nytimes.com/...)
Flynn was eventually dismissed by Trump on the basis of allegedly lying to Vice President Pence about his discussion with Russian ambassador Kisilyak about Russian sanctions during the campaign transition. (Note: It is my opinion Pence DID know. Trump certainly knew, yet kept Flynn on for 18 more days after being personally informed about potential serious problems with Flynn by Sally Yates, then Acting Attorney General of the DOJ, in a meeting at the White House.)
Flynn was fired ONLY AFTER major U.S. newspapers reported the Flynn/Kisilyak conversation.
Both the Washington Post and the New York Times reported that Flynn talked to the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kisilyak, about forthcoming sanctions from the Obama administration in response to Russian electoral meddling. The allegations led to calls from Democrats for Flynn to be dismissed while some prominent Republicans were tepid in their support. The Guardian
Sally Yates will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, 08 May. (The Los Angeles Times)
In the meantime, both Page and Manafort have offered to testify before both the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the U.S. House Intelligence Committees in public. Neither committee has, to date, taken them up on the offer though it appears the senate committee intends to. Likely behind closed doors.
In the meantime, letters were sent from one or both intel committees asking for documents from Flynn, Page, Manafort and Republican strategist and long-time Trump friend Roger Stone as originally reported by Associated Press. It is possible the letter was sent to others.
The letters the committee sent to Stone and Page, which were shared with the AP on Friday, were virtually identical. The committee asked them to provide emails, text messages, letters, phone records or any other relevant information they have about meetings or contacts that they or any other individual affiliated with the Trump campaign had with Russian officials or representatives of Russian business interests. The Detroit News
Then on May 4, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence allegedly received a rather bizarre three-page letter from Mr. Page including a copy of the committee’s two-page 28 April letter seeking information. The letter is (allegedly) here.
Now, per a tweet from Daily Beast reporter Tim Mak, we find that the U.S. Senate Select Committee has issued a statement on Mr. Page and his apparent lack of cooperation, dated yesterday, 05 May:
Is it just me or do all these U.S./Russian players seem super nutty?