ADVERTISEMENT

Trump campaign adviser: Carter Page 'went around me' to get permission for Moscow trip

Carter Page bypassed his direct superiors and asked senior campaign officials for permission to travel to Moscow last year, according to Page's then-boss.

  • The director of the Trump campaign's National Security Advisory Committee says Carter Page went around him to get permission to travel to Moscow last July.
  • "I had tried to dissuade Carter from taking the trip, so he eventually went directly to Corey [Lewandowski]," said the campaign official, JD Gordon.
  • Questions were raised again on Monday about who approved the Moscow trip after the House Intelligence Committee released its transcript of Page's November 2 testimony.
ADVERTISEMENT

Early Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page bypassed his direct superiors and asked senior campaign officials for permission to travel to Moscow last year, according to Page's then-boss.

J.D. Gordon, then the director of the campaign's National Security Advisory Committee, told Business Insider that then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski approved Page's request to travel to Moscow last July.

"I discouraged Carter from taking the trip to Moscow in the first place because it was a bad idea," Gordon said. "Since I refused to forward his speech request form for approval, he eventually went around me directly to campaign leadership."

ADVERTISEMENT

Gordon said he was copied on the email Page sent to Lewandowski requesting to travel to Moscow to speak at the New Economic School.

"I had tried to dissuade Carter from taking the trip, so he eventually went directly to Corey," Gordon said.

Lewandowski told USA Today earlier this year that he "granted nobody permission" to travel to Russia. But Page told the House Intelligence Committee that Lewandowski gave him permission in an email exchange that he still has and could provide to Congress.

Page responded to Gordon's comments on Tuesday.

"It you guys want to collectively continue making something out of nothing, you might want to remind him of reality: Tell him to look up the email I sent to him, Corey, and someone else on June 19, 2016," he told Business Insider.Corey replied first. We are all reaching the heights of irrelevancy."

ADVERTISEMENT

Page told the House Intelligence Committee last week that Hope Hicks, the campaign's spokesperson at the time, was also copied on the email.

Questions were raised again on Monday about who approved the Moscow trip after the House Intelligence Committee released its transcript of Page's November 2 testimony.

Gordon said on Monday that he didn't "recall all of Carter Page's emails."

"I was getting thousands of emails on the campaign and didn't read all of them," he added.

Gordon has similarly denied any knowledge of Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos' consistent efforts to set up a meeting between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I did not know that George continued to try and arrange such a meeting by reaching out to other senior members of the campaign who were not in his direct chain of command," Gordon said last week.

FOLLOW BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Recommended articles

Sony’s creators convention redefines the creative landscape for content creators

Sony’s creators convention redefines the creative landscape for content creators

Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa ranked as Africa's most polluted countries in new report

Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa ranked as Africa's most polluted countries in new report

10 African countries with the lowest life expectancy according to the World Bank

10 African countries with the lowest life expectancy according to the World Bank

Kenyan women are more obese than their men - here’s why

Kenyan women are more obese than their men - here’s why

Africa’s richest man Dangote stands between Europe and $17 billion in revenue

Africa’s richest man Dangote stands between Europe and $17 billion in revenue

After months of exchanging blows, Kenya and Uganda takes steps towards resolution

After months of exchanging blows, Kenya and Uganda takes steps towards resolution

Africa's first black billionaire could join $2.9 billion Vivendi bid for MultiChoice

Africa's first black billionaire could join $2.9 billion Vivendi bid for MultiChoice

10 most dangerous African countries in 2024

10 most dangerous African countries in 2024

Russia’s nuclear influence expands further north of Africa

Russia’s nuclear influence expands further north of Africa

ADVERTISEMENT