Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page testified before the House Intelligence Committee behind closed doors Thursday and admitted he met with Russian government officials while on a trip to Moscow in July 2016.
Page repeatedly has said the trip was unrelated to his campaign duties, but House Intel members reportedly confronted Page with an email he sent to at least one campaign official following the trip detailing insights gleaned from conversations with "government officials, legislators and business executives."
Mr. Page acknowledged his meeting with Russian government officials during sharp questioning by Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the committee, according to a congressional official familiar with the exchange.
During another part of the testimony, Mr. Page was questioned about a trip to Budapest, although it was not immediately clear why. Mr. Page told The Times earlier this year that he had taken that trip around Labor Day weekend last year, but he said he had not met with any Russians.
Until now, the following is what we knew about Page's Moscow trip and suspected contact with Russian government officials:
In July 2016, Page traveled to Moscow to give a speech at the New Economic School wherein he was critical of U.S. foreign policy. During that trip, according to Yahoo News, Page may have met with Igor Diveykin, a former Russian security official now serving as Deputy Chief for Internal Policy. Similar information turned up in the controversial dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele. (It is unclear whether the intelligence reports Yahoo News references and the controversial dossier are one in the same.) The dossier claims Diveykin told Page the Russians had compromising material on Hillary Clinton and on Trump, and he should keep the latter in mind. Page repeatedly has denied any connection Russian government sources in Moscow.
Read more: Trump Campaign Adviser Met With Russian Officials in 2016 (NYT)