When an old campaign worker tried to sue FBI agents over surveillance

Back in 2016, Carter Page was just one of many volunteers helping Donald Trump’s presidential run. After the election, his name showed up in news stories about a secret FBI program trying to find out if Trump’s team was secretly working with Russia. The FBI got four court orders to monitor Page, but later investigations found the agency made mistakes when asking for those orders. Still, Page never faced any charges and has always said he had nothing to do with Russia.

In 2020, Page decided to sue a bunch of former FBI officials, including the agency’s former director. He claimed they broke the rules by spying on him. But most of his lawsuit got settled for $1. 25 million, leaving only the claims against the individual officials. The courts, including a federal appeals panel, threw out the rest of his case because they said he waited too long to file it. Page argued the three-year deadline shouldn’t start until the FBI admitted it messed up—not when a newspaper first reported the surveillance. The Supreme Court recently refused to take up his appeal, meaning his remaining legal fight is over. This case raises questions about how long people have to sue the government after big investigations. It also shows how hard it is to win lawsuits against officials when mistakes happen during national security cases.

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