The Trump administration settled a lawsuit with Carter Page for $1.25 million in April 2026 over FBI surveillance tied to the 2016 Russia investigation, though the former campaign adviser’s broader legal fight against individual officials ended Monday when the Supreme Court declined to revive his claims against ex-FBI Director James Comey and others.
Page, who served as a foreign-policy adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, filed his lawsuit in November 2020 alleging that the FBI illegally surveilled him based on warrant applications that were false and misleading. The Justice Department’s settlement, announced in April, covered only his claims against the federal government and pertained only to a claim he raised under the PATRIOT Act, not those alleging violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
The FBI obtained four FISA warrants to electronically surveil Page, including one in October 2016 and three others in 2017, as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Justice Department’s internal watchdog found that the FBI made 17 “significant errors and omissions” in its initial application in 2016 and the three renewal requests, according to CBS News. The inspector general particularly criticized the FBI’s reliance on the so-called “Steele dossier,” a set of opposition research memos prepared by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele that contained unproven allegations about then-candidate Trump.
In December 2019, the FISA court itself rebuked the FBI for its conduct. “The FBI’s handling of the Carter Page applications, as portrayed in the OIG report, was antithetical to the heightened duty of candor” owed to the court by the government, Judge Rosemary Collyer wrote, according to Politico. “The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable.”
Page’s lawsuit initially sought $75 million in damages. However, a federal district judge dismissed the case in 2022, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed that decision in 2024, ruling that the statute of limitations barred Page’s assertions against the federal entities and FBI personnel. The Supreme Court’s Monday decision declined to hear Page’s final appeal, leaving intact the lower court rulings.
The settlement does not resolve Page’s effort to pursue claims against individual officials including Comey, his deputy Andrew McCabe, and Kevin Clinesmith, a former FBI attorney who pleaded guilty to altering an email used in an application for permission to surveil Page. Those officials could still face legal action, though the Supreme Court’s denial significantly limits Page’s remaining legal options.
Sources
- Politico — details of the April 2026 settlement, FISA court rebuke, and Page’s lawsuit background
- CBS News — Supreme Court decision, settlement details, FISA warrant errors, and statute of limitations ruling
- The New York Times — Supreme Court’s Monday decision declining to revive the lawsuit
- NBC News — Supreme Court’s rejection of Page’s appeal
- CNN — Page’s original $75 million damages claim and lawsuit details
