Former Donald Trump campaign adviser Carter Page's speech in Moscow in July 2016 is what first prompted the FBI to look into possible ties between the campaign and the Russian government, The New York Times reports.
The FBI had kept an occasional eye on the businessman ever since a Russian spy tried to recruit him in 2013, something Page said was never successful, adding that he never knew the man was a covert Russian agent.
But in 2016, Page had become a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, though by all accounts his role was minor, and he reportedly has never met the 45th president.
In July, he traveled to Moscow for three days to deliver a speech at the New Economic School where he criticized American policies toward Russia. His opinions closely matched those of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Washington and other Western capitals have impeded potential progress through their often hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change," Page said in his speech, according to the Times.
Though it is not clear what about Page's trip drew the FBI's attention, the probe soon was widening, the Times quoted sources within the agency.
"In the months that followed, they said, more evidence came to light, including intercepts of Russian officials discussing Mr. Page and other Trump associates," the Times writes.
Page was not the only person within Trump's sphere that attracted the bureau's attention. Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort already was under investigation for business ties to a pro-Moscow political party in Ukraine.
Page has denied any improper contacts, telling "Good Morning America" last week that the current focus on him are just more of "these same lies" that "keep swirling around."
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