Senate asks Trump associates for details on Russian contacts

A Senate committee investigating Moscow's interference in last year's election has asked several of President Donald Trump associates to turn over information about possible contacts with Russian officials or businessmen.
Former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page responded on Friday calling the congressional probe a "comically fake inquiry" but pledged to cooperate.
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Republican strategist Roger Stone also are among those who have received letters from the Senate intelligence committee asking for information and documents related to the committee's investigation.
The committee would not disclose which individuals it is targeting, but in an email to The Associated Press, Stone said he intended to comply with the committee's requests.

"I am eager, indeed anxious, to testify in full public session, have requested no immunity and am ready to go," Stone wrote. He also said that he "rejects" the claim that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Guccifer 2.0 are Russian assets. He said the US government has offered no proof to support that assessment.
Stone communicated through Twitter direct messages with Guccifer 2.0, a hacker who has claimed responsibility for breaching the Democratic National Committee. Stone has said that he was unaware at the time that U.S. Officials believed the hacker had ties to Russia.

The letters to Stone and Page, which were shared with the AP on Friday, were virtually identical. The committee asked them to provide emails, text messages, letters, phone records or any other relevant information they have about meetings or contacts that they or any other individual affiliated with the Trump campaign had with Russian officials or representatives of Russian business interests.

The requests seek information about any contacts that occurred between the day Trump announced his candidacy, June 16, 2015, and his inauguration on January 20.
It also asks for information about Stone and Page's financial and real estate holdings related to Russia, including financial securities or holdings they might have sold or divested during that period.
In a written response to the committee's request, Page argued that the panel was conducting a "comically fake inquiry." At the same time, Page pledged to cooperate with the committee to "help resolve all of the false allegations which led to this fanciful witch hunt in the first place.