The price tag for special counsel Jack Smith’s roughly four-month investigation into former President Donald Trump ahead of charging him with 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents has been announced.
And it’s a big number.
“The special counsel leading the federal probe into former President Trump’s alleged mishandling of sensitive documents spent nearly $5.5 million in the first four months of the investigation,” Fox News reported on Friday.
“The office of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s statement of expenditures from November 2022 to the end of March 2023 was released on Friday, revealing how the investigator is using taxpayer dollars,” the report continued, adding: “Smith was also made the lead on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into the January 6 riots.”
Based on the disclosure from his office, Smith allocated a sum of $5,428,579 towards his investigations, with over $1.8 million designated for “contractual services.”
In contrast, Special Counsel Robert Hur, who was appointed this year to investigate President Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents during his tenure as vice president, has incurred expenditures totaling $615,962 thus far.
Which investigation was a real one, and which one wasn’t? More government expenditure figures should help you decide.
Fox News adds:
Additionally, since 2020, Special Counsel John Durham has reported $7,683,839 total in expenditures while investigating Russian interference in U.S. elections.
This means that in four months, Smith has spent the equivalent of over 70 percent of Durham’s two-and-a-half-year-old investigation’s total cost.
The footnote breaking down the total $1,881,926 noted that $1,674,947 went to “litigation/investigative support,” $143,493 was used for “IT services,” $63,151 went to “transcripts,” and $335 was used “for other services.”
Moreover, Smith allocated over $2.6 million towards personnel compensation and benefits, while $456,808 was spent on “rent, communications, and utilities.”
According to a Department of Justice spokesperson who spoke to Fox News Digital, it was revealed that Smith had inherited two ongoing investigations that were already at an advanced stage. The spokesperson further explained that the majority of the allocated funds are being utilized for litigation purposes and staff expenses related to these two investigations.
