WASHINGTON — A former Trump campaign aide promised to defy a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller and unloaded on President Donald Trump and his campaign in a series of stunning interviews Monday.
Sam Nunberg said he thinks Mueller may already have incriminating evidence on Trump directly, although he would not say what that evidence might be. He also said the president probably knew about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his top campaign staff and a team of Russians.
Shortly after he lobbed that allegation, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders rebuffed him during the White House press briefing.
“I definitely think he doesn’t know that for sure because he’s incorrect. As we’ve said many times before, there was no collusion with the Trump campaign,” Sanders said. “He hasn’t worked at the White House, so I certainly can’t speak to him or the lack of knowledge that he clearly has.”
Nunbert also said he thinks former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page worked with the Kremlin. “I believe that Carter Page was colluding with the Russians,” Nunberg said on CNN. “That Carter Page is a weird dude.”
Page called Nunberg’s accusations “laughable” in a comment to The Associated Press.
Page also has figured in the Russia investigation. The Justice Department and FBI obtained a secret warrant in October 2016 to monitor his communications. His activities during the presidential campaign that raised concerns included a July 2016 trip to Moscow.
Nunberg did not respond to requests for comment from the AP.
During his afternoon tirades, Nunberg detailed his interview with Mueller’s investigators, mocking them for asking questions like if he had heard Russian being spoken in Trump Tower. He then said he would reject a sweeping demand from Mueller for communications between him and top Trump advisers.
“I think it would be funny if they arrested me,” Nunberg said on MSNBC.
He later added on CNN: “I’m not going to the grand jury. I’m not going to spend 30 hours going over my emails. I’m not doing it. Why do I have to do it? … I’m not co-operating. Arrest me.”