October 10, 2017

Carter Page went on All In with Chris Hayes in March to give a strong "non denial denial" of any involvement he may have had in possibly colluding with Russia during the campaign. In May of this year he provided a letter attacking the Senate intelligence committee's "bitter" investigation, suggesting it was a "show trial" to find collusion when there was none.

Page has been out of the news for a few months now, but apparently something has changed. Politico is now reporting that Page has declared that he plans to plead the Fifth and not testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

What happened? Was he threatened? Does he feel that anything he says will lead to a prison sentence? What has changed since May?

Here is the oddest part of the story - it isn't even clear if the committee had formally requested that Page testify, although they have "signaled an interest." For now, they have only sought documents and testimony from some Trump associates. Oh, and Page declaring that he is pleading the Fifth won't stop them from dragging him in front of them. Yes, he can delay it. But at the end of the day, they can (and most likely will) subpoena him. Ignoring subpoenas can have dramatic and serious legal repercussions.

Most likely this is an effort to try to work out a plea deal because any good lawyer will tell Page that if you are subpoenaed, you must show up. You cannot just ignore it.

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