Carter Page taking the Fifth in Senate Russia investigation
Former Trump adviser Carter Page is pleading his Fifth Amendment right and refusing to hand over documents to a Congressional inquiry into Russian election meddling.
Page, a former financier in Moscow who was name-dropped as a foreign policy adviser by the future President last spring, told CNN that he would still like to testify publicly.
However, he rejected the Senate Intelligence Committee's request for paperwork as it looks into alleged efforts by the Kremlin to tilt the election towards Trump.
POLITICO reported Tuesday that Page told the committee he would not appear, though senators have suggested they are willing to subpoena testimony.
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The adviser came under scrutiny last year after a Yahoo News report that his visit to the Russian capital for a speech in July included meetings with high-ranking officials including Vladimir Putin ally and oil executive Igor Sechin.
Page denies the meeting, and has sued media outlets in Manhattan federal court, where he blasted the original Yahoo report was based off of the unverified anti-Trump "dossier" compiled by a British spy.
The Trump campaign distanced itself from Page shortly after the Kremlin-related questions, and Page also now downplays his role and says that he never met Trump.
However, federal court documents show that he was previously the target of Russian intelligence operation in 2013, and a Washington Post report from April says that he was the subject of a federal foreign surveillance warrant last year.
Page told CNN that he is using his right against self-incrimination because the government may have better records about his communications than he does and he wants to avoid a "perjury trap."
