The Trump Carter Page settlement marks a significant legal development as the administration of Donald Trump reaches an agreement with former campaign adviser Carter Page over claims of improper government surveillance tied to his contacts with Russia during the 2016 election.
According to a filing submitted to the Supreme Court, the agreement resolves a lawsuit in which Page accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI of violating his constitutional rights. The case stemmed from surveillance conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a tool used in investigations involving foreign connections.
Page had been under scrutiny as part of a broader probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Investigators sought to monitor him due to his role in the Trump campaign and his ties to individuals linked to Russia.
However, a later inspector general report found that the process used to obtain the surveillance warrants contained significant errors and omissions. While the DOJ acknowledged that the first two warrants were valid, it later admitted that the final two lacked sufficient legal basis.
In his lawsuit, Page sought $75 million in damages and named several former officials, including ex-FBI Director James Comey, former counterintelligence official Peter Strzok, and former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who was convicted of altering an email related to the FISA application.
The lawsuit was initially dismissed by a federal judge, a decision later upheld on appeal, partly on the grounds that Page had not directly sued the individuals responsible for the surveillance. Despite that, the parties have now agreed to settle, although the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
A DOJ spokesperson said targeting American citizens for political purposes represents a serious violation of civil liberties, adding that the department is committed to addressing alleged abuses and ensuring accountability.
The final report by special counsel Robert Mueller detailed Page’s contacts with at least two Russian intelligence officers prior to joining the campaign. It also highlighted his 2016 trip to Moscow, where he delivered a speech critical of U.S. foreign policy toward Russia and interacted with Kremlin-linked figures.
Based on those connections, along with unverified information from the controversial Trump-Russia dossier, investigators obtained court approval to surveil Page for nearly a year.
The settlement does not cover Page’s claims against individual defendants, according to the court filing.
This agreement is part of a broader pattern of legal resolutions tied to the Russia investigation. Recently, the Justice Department also settled a lawsuit with Michael Flynn, awarding him more than $1 million after he alleged wrongful prosecution.
Flynn had sued for $50 million, claiming the FBI attempted to entrap him early in the Trump administration. His case originated from a 2017 criminal charge in which he admitted to lying to investigators about contacts with the Russian ambassador and disclosures related to his lobbying work for Turkey.
Although Flynn initially cooperated with the investigation led by Mueller, he later withdrew his guilty plea. The DOJ eventually dropped the case, and he was later pardoned by Trump.
Separately, Trump’s legal team is also in discussions with the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit alleging the unauthorized disclosure of his tax records during his first term.
