Carter Page
Carter Page (born 1971 or 1972[1]) is an American oil industry consultant[2] and was a foreign policy advisor to Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign. He is the founder and managing partner of Global Energy Capital, a New York investment fund[1] and consulting firm[3] specializing in the Russian and Central Asian oil and gas business.[3]
Business career
Page is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and served as a Marine intelligence officer in Western Sahara.[4]
According to his company's biography, Page worked as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch in London, New York and from 2004 to 2007 in Moscow, where he worked on transactions involving Gazprom and other leading Russian energy companies.[1] According to businesspeople interviewed by Politico in 2016, Page's work in Moscow was at a subordinate level, and he himself remained largely unknown to decision-makers.[1]
Page founded his own investment fund, Global Energy Capital, in 2008; his other partner is former Gazprom executive Sergei Yatsenko. The fund operates out of a co-working space in Manhattan, and is registered to Page's father's address.[1] Other businesspeople working in the Russian energy sector said to Politico in 2016 that the fund had yet to actually realize a project.[1]
Foreign policy
Page has written columns in Global Policy Journal and is a fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations.[1] He has expressed views in support of Russian president Vladimir Putin[1] and harshly criticised U.S. policy,[4] and was characterized as "a brazen apologist for anything Moscow did" by a U.S. official.[3] He is frequently quoted on Russian television as a "famous American economist".[1]
Page was one of five people[5] named as foreign policy advisors by Donald Trump in March 2016. According to Trump campaign staffers, he "has never met Trump, never briefed him", and was put on Trump's list of advisors more or less by chance at a time when more experienced Republican foreign policy experts were busy distancing themselves from Trump.[1]
In September 2016, U.S. intelligence officials were reported to investigate alleged contacts between Page and Russian officials subject to U.S. sanctions, including Igor Sechin.[3] Page rejected the accusations and said he would "take a leave of absence" from Trump's campaign.[2]
External links
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ioffe, Julia (September 23, 2016). "The Mystery of Trump's Man in Moscow". Politico. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ a b Rogin, Josh (September 26, 2016). "Trump's Russia adviser speaks out, calls accusations 'complete garbage'". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Isikoff, Michael (September 23, 2016). "U.S. intel officials probe ties between Trump adviser and Kremlin". Yahoo! News. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ a b Mufson, Steven; Hamburger, Tom (July 8, 2016). "Trump adviser's public comments, ties to Moscow stir unease in both parties". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ With Walid Phares, George Papadopoulos, Joe Schmitz and Keith Kellogg. See: "A transcript of Donald Trump's meeting with The Washington Post editorial board". The Washington Post. March 21, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.