Supreme Court Declines to Revive Carter Page Lawsuit Over FBI Surveillance

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to revive a lawsuit from Carter Page, an aide to President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign who was subjected to secret surveillance during the FBI's investigation into potential Russian interference. Page had previously settled with the U.S. government for $1.25 million but sought to continue legal action against then-FBI Director James Comey and other former officials, alleging "unlawful spying" in connection with the probe into whether Trump's campaign had conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election outcome.

Page vigorously denied any improper ties to Russia and was never charged with any wrongdoing. The justices issued a brief order declining the case without detailing their reasoning, which is standard Supreme Court practice. Lower courts had previously dismissed the lawsuit in part because Page had not sued the individuals who actually carried out the surveillance operations.

Page's legal challenge centered on alleged omissions and errors made by FBI and Justice Department officials in applications submitted in 2016 and 2017 to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court seeking authorization to monitor Page on suspicion he was a Russian agent. A government watchdog report had been highly critical of the surveillance applications used in his case. Former FBI and Justice Department leaders subsequently acknowledged they would not have approved the surveillance had they been fully aware of the extent of the issues identified. The FBI has since implemented more than 40 corrective measures aimed at improving the accuracy and completeness of future applications.

Page's settlement came in April, coinciding with his pending Supreme Court appeal. It followed a roughly $1.2 million settlement with Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with a Russian diplomat and was later pardoned. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation concluded that Russia had interfered to benefit Trump's campaign and that the campaign welcomed the assistance, though Mueller's team found insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia.