Justice Department Reaches $1.25 Million Settlement with Former Trump Campaign Aide
The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to a $1.25 million settlement with Carter Page, a former advisor to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, over claims of improper surveillance during the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the election. Page argued that he was subjected to “unlawful spying” as part of the FBI’s probe into the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia.
In his 2020 lawsuit, Page accused FBI and Justice Department officials of making significant omissions and errors in their applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor him, suspecting him of being a Russian agent. Despite these allegations, Page was never charged with any wrongdoing and has consistently denied any inappropriate connections with Russia.
After lower courts dismissed his suit due to timing issues, Page appealed to the Supreme Court. While the appeal was underway, the Justice Department informed the court of the settlement on Wednesday. This settlement does not include claims against former FBI officials who were also named in Page’s lawsuit.
The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the court filing, but a source familiar with the agreement, speaking anonymously, confirmed the amount as $1.25 million.
The lawsuit emerged following a critical Justice Department inspector general report that highlighted numerous issues with the surveillance applications. Some former FBI and Justice Department leaders have since stated they would have reconsidered their approval had they been aware of the problems. In response, the FBI has implemented over 40 corrective measures to enhance the accuracy and integrity of future applications.
The investigation into Page represented only a small segment of the broader inquiry into potential connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation concluded that Russia had indeed interfered to support Trump during the 2016 election, though it found insufficient evidence to prove a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russian officials.
In a related development, the Justice Department earlier settled a separate case with Michael Flynn, former Trump national security adviser, for approximately $1.2 million. Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his communications with a Russian diplomat but was later pardoned by Trump. More details on Flynn’s case can be found here and here.
