Additional Trump campaign advisers say they met with Russian ambassador to the U.S.
While at a diplomacy conference in July connected to the Republican National Convention, two of Donald Trump's national security advisers spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
J.D. Gordon told USA Today he had an "informal conversation" with Kislyak at the Global Partners in Diplomacy event, "just like my interactions with dozens of other ambassadors and senior diplomats in Cleveland." Carter Page told the newspaper he could not disclose what he said to Kislyak because of "confidentiality rules." Page, who left Trump's campaign after taking heat for a speech he gave in Moscow critical of American foreign policy and sanctions against Russia, went on All In with Chris Hayes on Thursday night, and gave a slippery answer when the host asked him if he met and spoke with Kislyak in Cleveland. "I may have met him, possibly, might have been in Cleveland," he said. "I'm respectful to the organizers, I'm respectful of confidentiality rules."
Kislyak, Russia's top diplomat in Washington since 2008, has been popular with people who orbit around Trump — on Wednesday, it was revealed that Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with him twice during the campaign while serving as a top foreign policy adviser to Trump, despite saying otherwise during his confirmation hearing, and the White House acknowledged on Thursday he met with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, in December before former President Barack Obama prepared to impose sanctions against Russia for interfering in the presidential election. Trump officials have repeatedly said that during the campaign, there was no contact with any Russian officials.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
‘Capitalism: A Global History’ by Sven Beckert and ‘American Canto’ by Olivia NuzziFeature A consummate history of capitalism and a memoir from the journalist who fell in love with RFK Jr.
-
Who will the new limits on student loans affect?The Explainer The Trump administration is imposing new limits for federal student loans starting on July 1, 2026
-
Why does Susie Wiles have MAGA-land in a panic?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Trump’s all-powerful gatekeeper is at the center of a MAGA firestorm that could shift the trajectory of the administration
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
-
Kushner drops Trump hotel project in SerbiaSpeed Read Affinity Partners pulled out of a deal to finance a Trump-branded development in Belgrade
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
