Justice Department reaches $1.25M settlement with Trump 2016 campaign aide over Russia probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has reached a settlement in a $1.25 million lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign aide. Who was the target of secret surveillance during the FBI’s Russia investigation?.
Carter Page claimed in a lawsuit filed in 2020 that he was the victim of “illegal espionage” by an FBI agency investigating whether Trump’s 2016 campaign conspired with Russia to influence the election outcome. The lawsuit alleged that FBI and Justice Department officials made a series of omissions and errors in their applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap Page on suspicion of being a Russian agent in 2016 and 2017.
Page has vehemently denied allegations of improper ties to Russia and has never been accused of any wrongdoing.
Page appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts rejected his case, and appellate judges last year said he waited too long to file the complaint. But while the appeal was still 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 agreement does not cover allegations Page made against the former FBI officials he sued.
The dollar figure was not disclosed in the Supreme Court filing, but a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss nonpublic information said the settlement amount was $1.25 million.
Page’s trial comes after harsh criticism Ministry of Justice inspector general report identified significant problems in four surveillance practices. Former FBI and Justice Department leaders who signed off on the surveillance have since said they would not have done so had they known the extent of the problems. FBI says it has opened more than 40 investigations Corrective steps aimed at improving the accuracy and comprehensiveness of applications.
Despite problems with the search warrant applications, Page’s review represented only a narrow portion of the overall investigation into relations between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation It concluded that Russia intervened on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 election campaign and that the campaign welcomed the assistance. Mueller’s team said it did not find enough evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia.
The Justice Department reached a nearly $1.2 million settlement with Michael Flynn in March, settling a separate lawsuit with someone other than the Trump-Russia investigation. Trump’s former national security advisor Admitted lying to the FBI about conversations with a senior Russian diplomat was later pardoned.
