Supreme Court Leaves Carter Page Surveillance Lawsuit Against Ex-FBI Officials Dismissed
On Monday, June 15, 2026, the Supreme Court denied Carter Page's petition to revive his lawsuit against former FBI officials, leaving lower-court dismissals in place.[1]
The denial appeared on the Court's June 15 order list and was issued without explanation, with no justice noting any dissent.[2] Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did not participate in the petition's consideration because of her prior service on D.C. federal courts.[2] Page previously reached a $1.25 million settlement with the federal government, which the Justice Department said mooted claims against the government.[3]
The FBI sought the first of four foreign-intelligence surveillance warrants targeting Page on October 21, 2016; renewals followed in 2017.[1] A December 2019 Justice Department inspector general report found significant inaccuracies and omissions in the FISA applications, and DOJ later acknowledged two renewals lacked probable cause.[1]
A federal district court dismissed Page's case in 2022, and the D.C. Circuit affirmed in 2025, holding his claims were time-barred.[1] Page argued to the justices that the lower courts applied an unduly strict timeliness test, but the Court declined to revisit those rulings.[2]
The mainstream summary does not address the significant inaccuracies and omissions identified in the FISA applications targeting Carter Page, which were highlighted in the 2019 DOJ Inspector General report. This report noted 17 major errors, including the failure to disclose exculpatory evidence and inadequate reassessment of the Steele dossier's reliability, raising questions about the integrity of the FBI's surveillance practices. These details suggest a broader context of institutional failures that the mainstream coverage downplays, potentially influencing public trust in federal law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, Pew Research data indicates a dramatic decline in trust in the federal government, which fell to just 17% by late 2025, reflecting a growing skepticism that the summary does not capture. This decline is particularly relevant given the controversies surrounding FISA abuses and their impact on public perception of government integrity.[4][5]
Show source details & analysis (4 sources)
📊 Relevant Data
The FBI obtained four FISA warrants targeting Carter Page on October 21, 2016; January 12, 2017; April 7, 2017; and June 29, 2017, each authorizing up to 90 days of electronic surveillance that required renewal applications meeting the same probable cause standard.
In re Carter W. Page: A US Person — Clearinghouse.net
The Department of Justice later acknowledged that the April and June 2017 FISA renewal applications for Carter Page lacked sufficient probable cause to establish he was acting as an agent of a foreign power, rendering those two authorizations invalid.
Justice Dept. Admitted it Lacked Probable Cause in Carter Page FISAs — U.S. Senate
📌 Key Facts
- On Monday, June 15, 2026, the Supreme Court denied Carter Page's petition for review, leaving the lower‑court dismissals of his claims against former FBI officials in place.
- The denial appeared on the Court's June 15, 2026 order list and was issued without explanation, with no justice noting any dissent from the decision to deny review.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did not participate in the Court's consideration of Page's petition, with the order noting her prior judicial service in the D.C. federal courts from which the case arose.
- Lower courts, including the D.C. Circuit, dismissed Page's suit in part because he had not sued the officials who directly carried out the challenged surveillance and because the courts held his claims were time‑barred.
- Page's petition argued that the lower courts applied an unduly strict timeliness standard in holding his claims time‑barred, and his lawsuit named former FBI Director James Comey and other ex‑officials.
- Page previously reached a $1.25 million settlement with the federal government, and the Justice Department told the Court in an April filing that claims against the government were moot because of that settlement and expressed no view on whether to review his remaining claims against individual officials.
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- On Monday, June 15, 2026, the Supreme Court denied Carter Page's petition for certiorari challenging lower-court rulings that dismissed his surveillance-related claims against former FBI officials.
- The denial appeared on the Court's June 15, 2026 order list and was issued without explanation, with no justice noting any dissent from the decision to deny review.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did not participate in considering the petition, with the order noting her prior judicial service in the D.C. federal courts from which the case arose.
- The article confirms that the Justice Department, in an April filing, told the Court Page's claims against the government were moot because of a settlement and expressed no view on whether to review his remaining claims against individual officials, which those individuals opposed.
- Page's petition focused on the argument that the lower courts applied an unduly strict timeliness standard in holding his claims time-barred.
- Article reports that on Monday, June 15, 2026, the Supreme Court formally denied Carter Page's petition for review in his lawsuit against James Comey and other former FBI officials, leaving lower‑court dismissals in place.
- It adds context on the justices' disposition of the case (for example, whether there were any noted dissents from the denial, if specified in the NYT report).
- It may provide additional detail on the legal reasoning emphasized by the lower courts regarding why Page's claims against individual officials were barred, expanding on earlier accounts focused mainly on the D.C. Circuit's time‑bar ruling.
- On Monday, June 15, 2026, the Supreme Court denied Carter Page's appeal in his lawsuit against former FBI Director James Comey and other ex-officials, leaving lower-court dismissals in place.
- The article reiterates that Page previously reached a $1.25 million settlement with the federal government but confirms that this settlement did not affect the separate, now-final dismissal of claims against individual officials.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did not participate in the Court's consideration of Page's petition, the article notes.
- The piece restates that lower courts dismissed Page's suit in part because he had not sued the officials who directly carried out the challenged surveillance.