The federal government is cutting a hefty check to Carter Page, the onetime foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign who became a central figure in the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe. The Justice Department has agreed to pay Page $1.25 million to settle his claim that he was unlawfully surveilled during the investigation, according to people familiar with the talks. The deal was revealed just as his appeal reached the Supreme Court and resolves his claim against the United States itself, while leaving his separate lawsuits against former FBI officials still hanging in the air.
Page was never charged in the Russia inquiry. The payout comes on the heels of a scathing watchdog review that found serious flaws in the secret surveillance warrants used to monitor him and lands as the latest in a series of high-profile government settlements tied to the fallout from the Russia investigation.
Settlement quietly flagged to the Supreme Court
The existence of the deal surfaced in a brief filed with the Supreme Court by Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who told the justices the parties had “agreed to settle” on April 21. The Supreme Court filing notes that the settlement makes Page’s federal claim against the United States moot.
The brief does not spell out how much the government is paying. That detail comes from CBS News and other outlets, which reported the payout is about $1.25 million, citing people familiar with the negotiations.
Watchdog blasted FISA process, FBI promised fixes
The settlement lands after a bruising 2019 review by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General, which examined the four Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, applications that targeted Page. The watchdog found “myriad errors and omissions” and catalogued multiple inaccuracies that undercut the government’s probable-cause showing.
The OIG report did not pull punches and recommended a slate of reforms. In subsequent testimony, the inspector general said the FBI “began to implement over 40 corrective actions” in response. Those fixes included revamped forms and checklists, more formal legal reviews of surveillance applications, updated training, and beefed-up auditing and compliance measures.
What the deal covers and what it does not
According to the government’s filing, the agreement resolves Page’s claim under the PATRIOT Act against the United States but “does not involve petitioner’s claims against the individual defendants.” In other words, the Justice Department is out of this particular fight, but the former FBI officials he sued are not.
The Solicitor General’s brief asks the Supreme Court to deny review of the now-settled claim as moot. Any further fireworks will depend on whether Page pushes ahead with his remaining cases against the individual defendants in the lower courts.
Context and what comes next
The Page payout follows closely on another Russia-era settlement. In March, the Justice Department reached a roughly $1.2 million deal with former national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to AP. That agreement has already drawn skeptical attention on Capitol Hill, with Rep. Jamie Raskin pressing DOJ for documents and explanations.
With the Page settlement now on the record, the Supreme Court appears likely to step aside on his resolved claim against the United States. The real drama may shift back to the lower courts, where Page’s remaining lawsuits against former FBI officials could determine whether this is the last check taxpayers write over the surveillance of a little-known campaign adviser who ended up at the center of a political firestorm.
.jpg){kind=link}