Former Trump campaign adviser was working with Russian government, FBI document claims

Donald Trump has accused the FBI of spying on his presidential campaign following the release of top secret surveillance warrant applications which accuse his former foreign policy adviser of conspiring with Russia. 

The application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court,  which dates back to October 2016, states that Mr Page was suspected of "collaborating and conspiring" with the Russian government and was the subject of "targeted recruitment" by the county's intelligence service.

It is the first time in the forty year history of the FISA court system, established to regulate the interception of phone calls and other communications in the US in search of spies and terrorists, that warrant applications have been made public.

In a series of angry tweets, Mr Trump condemned the bureau and the Department of Justice for appearing to rely on the dossier created by former British spy Christopher Steele and not disclosing to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that it was commissioned and paid for by Democrat's carrying out opposition research.

The redacted documents were released to the New York Times under the Freedom of Information Act. 

The 400 pages of documents have been at the heart of a months long tug of war between Democrats and Republicans after they became the centrepiece of a controversial memo written by Devin Nunes, the House Intelligence Committee chairman who accused the FBI of abusing its surveillance powers.

The paperwork detailed the FBI's argument for repeated warrants to be issued to allow the continued monitoring of Mr Page, who has denied any wrongdoing. 

The application states: "The F.B.I. believes Page has been the subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian government.” 

A line was redacted before it continued: “undermine and influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election in violation of U.S. criminal law. Mr. Page is a former foreign policy adviser to a candidate for U.S. president.”  The document refers to Mr Trump as candidate # 1.

Later excerpts state Mr Page “has established relationships with Russian government officials, including Russian intelligence officers," that the bureau believed the "Russian government’s efforts are being coordinated with Page and perhaps other individuals associated with candidate  #1's campaign" and that he has been "collaborating and conspiring with the Russian government.”

Mr Page, who has not been charged with any offence, described the latest revelations as a "joke."

He told CNN: "It's literally a complete joke. "No, I've never been an agent of a foreign power by any stretch of the imagination." 

Meanwhile this weekend, Dan Coats, the Director of US National Intelligence released an apologetic statement after his astonished reaction to Mr Trump's decision to invite Vladimir Putin to Washington in the autumn.

Mr Coats burst into laughter and said: "Okay, that's going to be special", during an interview at the Aspen Security Conference in Colorado on Thursday.

On Saturday he said: "My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticise the actions of the president."