Of all people who has been intricately involved with the legalities surrounding the Russia investigation, it's Carter Page. But when CNN's Anderson Cooper asked Page to confirm Trump's assessment, Page could not.
"I never found anything unusual whatsoever," Page told Cooper. "You know, there's a lot of allegations out there right now."
The first time Page met the man was a week following his trip to Russia. Page said that the two men kept in contact for about a year following the conference they both attended and that they spoke about the campaign and foreign policy.
"You know he is someone who is, you know, long-term -- someone who had been part of the establishment in Republican politics," Page said of the academic who had worked as an assistant for three chiefs of staff, Alexander Haig, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. "So, typically, you know, around the convention time, and halfway through a presidential year, there's -- you keep bringing on more people in terms of potential supporters from the party, et cetera. It just seemed like something like that."
Cooper noted that Trump has repeatedly called the man a spy and alleged that the man infiltrated the campaign. He asked Page if that was his take and Page said no.
"I see no connection with it. You know, he always said, we're looking out for the forgotten man," Page said. "I was -- I've always been looking to just kind of get justice in terms of what's been going on. And to the extent that we kind of get some real information out there, as to some of the abuses, and increasingly, there's been a lot of evidence that's come out, particularly in early February when the House Intelligence -- both the Democrats and the Republicans, their memos continue to show that there was a lot of wrongdoing really to this --"
Cooper asked what he meant by "wrongdoing" and Page clarified that it was an abuse of process in the FISA court that came after him.
The host then asked if Page believed the man was a spy trying to infiltrate the campaign. Page changed the subject about a "drip, drip, drip" of things coming out.
Cooper asked again, this time focusing on his own personal experience and understanding, not the president's.
"I don't like to make accusations without hard facts," Page said. Cooper asked again. "I don't like jumping to conclusions."
Cooper said it was "fair enough," as the same wisdom is not one the president has not heeded.
Watch the full clip below:
