ELIZABETH: LET’S WELCOME BACK TO
THE SHOW FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN
ADVISER CARTER PAGE.
HE’S THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK
"ABUSE OF POWER," CHRONICLING
HOW HE WAS A TARGET OF THE FBI.
GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK ON AGAIN.
DUD YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHATSOEVER
THAT A WHAT GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
SHOW NOW, THAT THE MAIN SOURCE
FOR THE NOW-DEBUNKED ANTI-TRUMP
STEELE DOSSIER WAS, QUOTE, A
LIKELY RUSSIAN SPY?
DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA ABOUT
THAT?
>> NO.
AND I HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR THE
TRUTH FOR YEARS ALREADY, LIZ,
AND IT’S REALLY UNFORTUNATE THAT
WE’RE FINALLY FINDING OUT ABOUT
THIS JUST 40 DAYS BEFORE THE
ELECTION.
SO THIS IS JUST AN EXTRAORDINARY
LEVEL OF CORRUPTION THAT HAS
JUST BEEN UNCOVERED YESTERDAY,
AND I, LIKE I SAID, I’VE BEEN
TRYING SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING
TO GET THE TRUTH.
NO LUCK.
ELIZABETH: SO YOU HAD NO IDEA,
YOU HAD NO IDEA HE WAS A RUSSIAN
AGENT WHO THE FBI HAD
INVESTIGATED FOR TWO YEARS
BECAUSE THERE WAS A POTENTIAL
THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY
BECAUSE OF HIS TIES TO RUSSIAN
INTELLIGENCE.
YOU DIDN’T KNOW ANY OF THAT, AND
THE FBI WAS TOLD ABOUT THIS, YOU
KNOW, IN DECEMBER OF 2016 BEFORE
THEY GOT WIRETAPS ON YOU.
FINISH YOU DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING
ABOUT THAT.
>> NO.
A ALTHOUGH THEY SAY IT WAS
POSSIBLE HE WAS A THREAT TO
NATIONAL SECURITY.
WE NOW KNOW THAT HE AND HIS
COLLEAGUES IN THE DEMOCRAT PARTY
FUNDED BY THE DNC, THEY DID
BECOME A THREAT TO NATIONAL
SECURITY IN THE LEADUP TO THE
LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND
THROUGHOUT THE INITIAL YEARS OF
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
I WAS GETTING ALMOST CONSTANT
DEATH THREATS RELATED TO ALL
THESE FALSE ALLEGATIONS THAT
THIS SUBSOURCE WAS DISTRIBUTING
OR WAS HELPING CHRISTOPHER
STEELE AND PROVIDING CHRISTOPHER
STEELE, THE DNC CONSULTANT, JUST
TO TALK DOWN PRESIDENT TRUMP.
TAKE DOWN PRESIDENT TRUMP.
AND MY NAME WAS A ATTACHED TO
THIS COMPLETELY MADE-UP STORY,
SO IT’S TRULY EXTRAORDINARY.
ELIZABETH: SO THIS SOURCE WORKED
AT THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION.
HE ALSO WAS ASKING A LOT OF
QUESTIONS ABOUT U.S. MILITARY
VESSELS.
HE WAS ALSO -- THIS IS, IT GETS
WORSE WITH.
IN MAY 2009 HE TRIED TO RECRUIT
TWO INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE CLOSE
TO A FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER TO
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYING
THAT IF YOU, IF YOU GET A JOB IN
THE GOVERNMENT, YOU HAVE ACCESS
TO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, YOU
MAY BE ABLE TO MAKE A LITTLE
EXTRA MONEY ON THE SIDE.
SO WHEN YOU SEE INFORMATION LIKE
THIS GIVEN THAT -- AND, BY THE I
WAY, TURNING TO, SWITCHING NOW
OVER TO HUNTER BIDEN AND THAT
STORY, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN WIRED
ANY MONEY WHATSOEVER FROM
OVERSEAS INDIVIDUALS?
>> NO, NEVER ANYTHING LIKE THAT,
THAT’S FOR SURE.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT’S EXACTLY,
IT’S FUNNY ABOUT THAT QUOTE THAT
YOU JUST CITED.
A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA MONEY ON
THE SIDE.
I MEAN, THAT $3 MILLION PLUS
FROM A SENIOR OLIGARCH IN MOSCOW
IS REALLY BRINGING THAT WHOLE
CONCEPT TO AN ENTIRELY NEW
LEVEL.
AND THAT’S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF
HOW WE’VE BEEN WAITING, AND I
KNOW SEVERAL SENIOR MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS HAVE BEEN PUSHING FOR
THE TRUTH FOR YEARS JUST LIKE
I’VE BEEN PUSHING -- OR CALLING
FOR THE TRUTH SINCE THE LAST
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, AND WE’RE
FINALLY JUST GETTING SOME
INITIAL CLUES ABOUT THE EXTENT
OF THE COMPLETE CORRUPTION AND
JUST HOW FAR THESE PEOPLE WILL
GO TO LINE THEIR OWN POCKETS.
ELIZABETH: SO HOW DO YOU
RECONCILE IN YOUR HEAD THAT THE
DEMOCRATS, INCLUDING THE HILLARY
CLINTON CAMPAIGN, HELPED FUND
THIS ANTI-TRUMP OPPOSITION
RESEARCH, THE STEELE DOSSIER,
THAT WAS USING AS ITS MAIN
SOURCE A RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE, A
RUSSIAN SPY THAT THE FBI HAD
ALREADY INVESTIGATED AND THAT
NOW CRITICS WARN, SAYING
BASICALLY THIS IS RUSSIA
DISINFORMATION COMING INTO THE
STEELE DOSSIER, YOU KNOW,
BASICALLY THAT FBI WAS PURSUING
YOU BASED ON RUSSIAN
DISINFORMATION THAT.
’S WHAT WE HEARD, REPUBLICAN
SENATORS HAVE BEEN TELLING US.
HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THIS?
>> WELL, I THINK IT IS -- WE ARE
GOING THROUGH A RECONCILIATION
PROCESS.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THAT ENTIRE
SHAM WAS PUSHED BY THE
DEMOCRATS’ COLLEAGUES IN THE
MAINSTREAM MEDIA.
THEY’RE THE ONES THAT WERE
BROADCASTING THIS RUSSIAN
DISCUSS INFORMATION FOR YEARS
AND YEARS ON END.
SO UNFORTUNATELY, THERE DOES
NEED TO BE A RECKONING, AND WE
ARE NOT QUITE THERE YET.
AND, UNFORTUNATELY, WE’RE NOW
LESS THAN 40 DAYS FROM THE NEXT
ELECTION, SO I THINK IT’S REALLY
IMPORTANT THAT AMERICANS KNOW
THE FULL TRUTH.
ELIZABETH: YOU KNOW, SENATOR
GRAHAM CALLED THIS MOST STUNNING
AND DAMNING REVELATION HIS
COMMITTEE HAS UNCOVERED IN THE
REVIEW OF THE TRUMP-RUSSIA
PROBE.
SENATOR GRAHAM SAID, QUOTE WITH:
TO ME, FAILURE OF THE FBI TO
INFORM THE FISA COURT THAT THE
PRIMARY SUBSOURCE FOR
CHRISTOPHER STEELE WAS SUSPECTED
OF BEING A RUSSIAN AGENT.
THIS IS A BREACH, HE SAYS, OF
EVERY DUTY OWED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT TO THE JUDICIAL
SYSTEM.
HAD YOU EVER HAD ANY INDICATION
THAT THE FBI WAS NOT TELLING THE
FISA COURT ABOUT THIS AGENT,
THIS FBI -- THIS THOUGHT TO BE
AN FBI, EXCUSE ME, A RUSSIAN
SPY, THAT THEY KNEW ABOUT FOR
YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS?
YOU HAD NO WORD ABOUT THAT.
>> ABSOLUTELY NONE.
AND, UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN THIS
WHOLE DOJ INSPECTOR GENERAL
REPORT CALM -- CAME OUT, IT WAS
RECONTACTED.
AGAIN, THIS INFORMATION WHICH
WAS ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN
DECEMBER OF 2019, WE’RE JUST
LEARNING ABOUT IT TODAY.
AND IN TERMS OF CHAIRMAN GRAHAM,
HE IS A NATIONAL HERO HAVING
FOUGHT SO HARD FOR OVER TWO
YEARS TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF
THIS, AND THE FACT THAT WE’RE
ONLY NOW JUST GETTING IN, I
THINK IT’S A QUANTUM LEAP
FORWARD, BUT THERE CLEARLY IS A
LOT MORE TO COME, AND THERE
SHOULD BE.
AND I’M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD
TO NEXT WEDNESDAY WHEN CHAIRMAN
GRAHAM HAS FORMER FBI DIRECTOR
JAMES COMEY ON HIS, COME TO THE
COMMITTEE.
ELIZABETH: RIGHT.
>> THERE’S, OBVIOUSLY, GOING TO
BE A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT NEED
TO BE ANSWERED.
ELIZABETH: ALL RIGHT.
CARTER PAGE, THANKS FOR COMING
ON.