WASHINGTON —  DNC Communications Director Adam Hodge issued this statement responding to a Yahoo report that Carter Page, a top Trump foreign policy adviser with extensive business ties to Russia, has been communicating with senior Russian government officials close to Vladimir Putin, including an operative believed to be responsible for gathering intelligence on the U.S. election:
 
“If this report is true, it raises serious national security questions about the Trump campaign’s involvement with the Russian government, which is believed to be behind the illegal hacking of the Democratic party, an act of espionage intended to influence America’s election and benefit Donald Trump and his role model, Vladimir Putin. This bombshell report is deeply disturbing, especially after Trump called on Russia to hack an American government agency. If you wonder why Donald Trump is the least transparent candidate to run for president, it is because he is deathly afraid of what people will learn about him and his sordid relationships.”