A recent report shows that Special Counsel Jack Smith had spent over $5.4 million in the first five months investigating former President Donald Trump for his possession of confidential documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The investigation into Smith’s case cost over $9 million, with $2.6 million allocated to personnel compensation and benefits and $1.9 million spent on contractual services such as legal and investigative support. Additional expenses include rent, travel, and equipment, with the report also revealing that other Justice Department agencies spent more than $3.8 million to assist in the investigation.
Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Smith in November 2022 to examine Trump’s handling of classified documents that he stored at his Mar-a-Lago home, in addition to the former president’s role in attempts to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
Recently, Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, were indicted for allegedly violating the Espionage Act and obstructing justice. The charges relate to their actions of taking classified records during Trump’s presidency and not returning them. Both individuals have pleaded not guilty.
The Department of Justice had also published reports about the expenses incurred by special counsels John Durham and Robert Hur.
During the last six months of his investigation into former President Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, Durham, who former Attorney General William Barr tasked to lead the probe, spent $1.1 million. The majority of these funds were personnel salaries, while an additional $59,000 was spent by other DOJ agencies.
Durham concluded his investigation in May with a scathing report that detailed how authorities never had sufficient evidence to open the case into Trump, and instead, the FBI had used “raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence” to establish the probe, which he noted was “seriously deficient.”
Garland tapped Hur to probe President Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Hur had spent $615,000 on the inquiry since mid-January and has not filed any charges.
Additionally, other Justice Department agencies have spent over $570,000 to assist in the investigation, bringing the total cost close to $1.2 million.
