In the first five months since Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to oversee the Trump-related investigations, it has been revealed that these investigations have cost over $9 million. These investigations, which include looking into efforts to overturn the 2020 election and Trump’s mishandling of classified records, were already underway when Smith took over. In June, an indictment was secured against Trump and his aide Walt Nauta regarding the retention of national defense information. Trump pleaded not guilty last month to the charges, while Nauta entered a not-guilty plea on Thursday.
During the period between November 2022 and March 2023, Smith’s investigations directly cost $5,428,579 in funding from the Justice Department. This included expenses for personnel compensation and benefits, as well as contractual services for litigation and IT support. An additional $3.8 million was spent on FBI and U.S. Marshal Service personnel connected to the investigations. Smith has made only one public statement since his appointment, emphasizing the importance of enforcing laws that protect national defense information.
The investigations also involve looking into the events surrounding the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Grand juries have been convened and witnesses, including Rudy Giuliani, have been interviewed. Leads have been followed, including an alleged scheme to overturn the Electoral College votes using a group of swing-state representatives pledging support to Trump.
The expense statements, which were released as part of a biannual submission by the Justice Department, also detailed the costs of other special counsel probes. These include the investigation into President Joe Biden’s retention of classified documents and the probe into the origins of the Russia investigation.
In addition to the investigations, former special counsel John Durham’s examination into the government’s conduct during the 2016 campaign found serious flaws in the basis for opening a full investigation into potential coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Durham’s investigation resulted in charges against three individuals, with one guilty plea and two acquittals. The total expenditure for Durham’s investigation was over $1.1 million.
In comparison, Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and alleged ties to the Trump campaign spent approximately $30 million. Mueller’s investigation concluded that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, but did find evidence of Russian efforts to interfere in the election.
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