The House Intelligence Committee on Monday released a transcript of its interview with Carter Page, a former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump, that reveals a man scrambling to stay on track.
Page’s testimony supports claims that he alerted other Trump staffers of his trip to Moscow during the election, confirmed some of the information in the infamous Steele dossier, and verified that he met with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on several occasions.
Page did not have a lawyer present with him during the interview as he decided to represent himself.
Here are some of the off-the-wall things that were said in the interview.
1) Page says he never met Trump
2) Rep. Trey Gowdy has no idea what Page did for the Trump campaign
3) Page insists he has never spoken with Trump—not even on Snapchat
4) Page says campaign staffers approved his 2016 Russia trip
5) Rep. Adam Schiff asks Page about him invoking the Fifth Amendment, which Page appears to not understand
6) Page really doesn’t want his contact information made public
7) Page says he sent a memo where a Russian government official express “strong support” for Trump
8) Page says he is not “thoroughly convinced” Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 election
9) Gowdy asked Page if he was a “birther” when it came to Russian interference in the 2016 election
10) Page says the allegations in the Steele dossier impacted the 2016 election more than Russia’s social media interference
11) Page says campaign adviser Sam Clovis—who encouraged George Papadopoulos, a campaign adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, to meet with Russian officials—asked him to sign a non-disclosure agreement
You can read the entire transcript of Carter Page’s interview here.