WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has settled a lawsuit for $1.25 million from an aide to President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign who was the target of covert surveillance during the FBI’s Russia investigation.
Carter Page claimed in a 2020 lawsuit that he was the victim of “illegal espionage” by the FBI agency, which was investigating whether Trump’s 2016 campaign conspired with Russia to influence the election results. The lawsuit alleges that FBI and Justice Department officials made a series of omissions and errors in applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in 2016 and 2017 to eavesdrop on Page on suspicion that he was a Russian agent.
Page has vehemently denied any suggestion of inappropriate ties to Russia and has never been accused of any wrongdoing.
After a lower court dismissed Page’s lawsuit, Page appealed to the Supreme Court, where appeals judges said last year that Page waited too long to file his complaint. But with an appeal pending, the Trump administration notified the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it had reached a settlement with Page over his claims against the federal government. The settlement does not include claims Page brought against former FBI officials he also sued.
Court documents filed with the Supreme Court did not disclose the exact amount, but a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss non-public information said the deal was for $1.25 million.
Page’s lawsuit follows a scathing report from the Justice Department’s inspector general that found significant problems with the four surveillance apps. Former FBI and Justice Department leaders involved in signing off on the surveillance have since said they would not have done so if they had known the extent of the problem, and the FBI said it has initiated more than 40 corrective actions aimed at improving the accuracy and thoroughness of the filings.
Despite the problems with the search warrant application, the review of Page represents only a small part of the overall investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
An investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Russia interfered on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 campaign, and the campaign welcomed the assistance. Mueller’s team said it found insufficient evidence to prove a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia.
In March, the Justice Department settled a separate lawsuit with another person in the Trump-Russia probe, reaching a roughly $1.2 million settlement with former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with top Russian diplomats and was later pardoned.
