Carter Page denies Russia used him to infiltrate the Trump campaign as it's revealed the president's lawyer told him to 'cease' calling himself an adviser

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A former adviser to President Donald Trump has denied recent claims that Russians used him to infiltrate Trump's election campaign.

Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump, said he believes the allegations were all a part of a 'political stunt'.

'There are certain questions I have, frankly speaking, just reading that report... that makes me wonder whether this was really just a political stunt,' Page told CNN on Saturday. 'We've seen that looking back at the history of political intelligence operations going back many decades.' 

Page, who is an international financier specializing in Russia's oil and gas markets, is referring to an FBI report that emerged on Friday which revealed evidence that suggested Russia tried to recruit aides close to Trump in order to infiltrate his campaign.

It was also revealed on Saturday that Trump's lawyer, Don McGahn, told Page to 'immediately cease' calling himself an adviser, as Russia concerns intensified following the election, according to a letter obtained by Fox News.

Carter Page (right), a former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump, denied recent claims that Russians used him to infiltrate Trump's election campaign. Page told CNN's Michael Smerconish (left) that he believes the allegations were all a part of a 'political stunt'

McGahn reportedly told Page in a December 2016 letter to stop suggesting he was more than a short-lived advisory council member 'who never actually met with the president-elect'.

US officials told CNN that the information which came to light prompted an investigation into contacts with Russian officials held by those in the Trump orbit, particularly Page.

Campaign officials have insisted that Page played a minor role in advising the president.

US officials told the network that they are unsure whether Page was aware the Russians might have tried to use him to gain access to the Trump campaign. 

It is possible that Page unknowingly communicated with Russian agents because of how Russian spy services operate.

But Page has denied collecting intelligence for Russia. He says he has shared whatever information he has about Russia with American intelligence agencies.

'My assumption throughout the last 26 years I've been going there has always been that any Russian person might share information with the Russian government... as I have similarly done with the CIA, the FBI and other government agencies in the past,' he told CNN.

It was also revealed on Saturday that Trump's lawyer, Don McGahn, told Page (pictured) to 'immediately cease' calling himself an adviser, as Russia concerns intensified following the election, according to a letter obtained by Fox News

That the claims are being made on CNN is only likely to intensify the President's conflict with the network he has called 'fake news' and lead to further accusations that it is acting as the opposition to Trump.

And they come against the background of a bitter and now nakedly partisan dispute over interactions with Russia between Republicans and the Democrats.

Last week, Page refused in an interview to say who hired him to work on Trump's presidential campaign – and leaving open the possibility that he talked with Russian agents about easing US sanctions if Trump were elected.

'Something may have come up in a conversation' last year when he was in Moscow to speak at the New Economic School,' he admitted Thursday.

But Page insisted there's no chance he or anyone linked to Trump will be convicted of a crime following a government probe into whether he acted as an agent for Russia in the months preceding the November election.

'That would be ridiculous. Absolutely not,' he said on ABC's 'Good Morning America' program.

Page said 'tons of false evidence' has been published suggesting that he had illicit contact with Russians who were recruiting him as a spy.

But he scurried away from questions about his legal predicament and his ties to the White House.

Page said he was confident that he had never discussed with Russians any information about hacked emails that may have proven decisive in November's presidential election.

'Not a word. Not once. Absolutely sure,' he said.

Page said he was confident that he had never discussed with Russians any information about hacked emails that may have proven decisive in November's presidential election

US intelligence agencies have concluded that state-sponsored Russian hackers were responsible for the hacks, which drove public opinion downward about both the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign.

Page has not been charged with any crimes, and it is unclear whether the US Justice Department might accuse him or others in connection with Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

But last week he acknowledged in a statement that he 'shared basic immaterial information and publicly available research documents' with Russian spy Victor Podobnyy.

The FBI secured a court order in 2016 to secretly survey Page's communications, as the agency investigates possible ties between the campaign and Russia, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Citing law enforcement and other US officials the Post reported that the warrant for Page was obtained last summer by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

The judge was convinced there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of Russia, the Post said.