Who Is Carter Page? FBI Obtained FISA Warrant To Investigate Ex-Trump Aide In Russia Probe, Report Says

The FBI obtained a secret warrant in the summer of 2016 to monitor President Donald Trump’s former campaign adviser Carter Page, as a part of the agency’s investigation into the alleged ties between Trump’s campaign associates and Russia, the Washington Post reported Tuesday citing law enforcement officials.

According to the anonymous officials, the FBI believed that there were enough probable causes for Page to act as an agent of a foreign power, in this case Russia, and so they obtained a FISA warrant after convincing a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge about the issue.

Page issued a statement to Reuters on Tuesday, saying that he was “happy to hear” about the Post’s report.

Referring to the warrant, he said in the statement: “It shows how low the Clinton or Obama regime went to destroy our democracy and suppress dissidents who did not fully support their failed foreign policy.”

"It will be interesting to see what comes out when the unjustified basis for those FISA requests are more fully disclosed over time," he added.

Page has constantly denied the allegations during media interviews and said he did not work with the Russians to influence the presidential elections.

“This confirms all of my suspicions about unjustified, politically motivated government surveillance,” Page said in an interview with the Post on Tuesday. “I have nothing to hide.”

The FISA court and its orders are known to be highly secretive. However, judges can grant permission for surveillance and approve application if they agree that there might be a probable cause that the alleged person is an agent of a foreign power. The Post reported that a 90-day warrant had been issued for Page earlier and it has been renewed several times by the FISA court.

Page had been previously working as an investment banker before he became a foreign policy adviser to Trump’s campaign. During an interview with the Post's editorial page staff in March 2016, Trump identified Page as his adviser. However, at a White House news conference in February, Trump said he doesn’t think he ever met Page in person, according to CNN.

"I don't think I've ever spoken to him," Trump said. "I don't think I've ever met him. And he actually said he was a very low-level member of I think a committee for a short period of time. I don't think I ever met him. Now, it's possible that I walked into a room and he was sitting there, but I don't think I ever met him."

According to the Post, campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks later said that Page’s role as campaign adviser was rather “informal.”

Page visited Moscow in July 2016 for a speech at the New Economic School, which he described as traveling in personal capacity. However, after the school cited his role in the Trump campaign saying he was advertising for him in the speech, Page’s alleged ties to Russia came under scrutiny.

The White House and the FBI have not commented on the issue yet.