The report also highlights the unusual nature of Smith’s investigations and the strong reactions they generated. Of the more than $3.8 million in budgeted costs, more than half — $1.93 million — was spent by the US Marshals Service, a DOJ spokeswoman said. The agency provides a security detail for the special counsel, who was flanked by deputy marshals on his way to and from the Washington office.
The various investigations Smith oversees were well under way when he took over, and he has largely maintained his existing staff, although he has added some prosecutors in recent months. The new report did not specify how much the Justice Department spent in the months before Smith, the former head of the DOJ’s public integrity division, quit his job as a war crimes prosecutor in Europe and returned to Washington. Take the politically sensitive Trump probes.
However, even an early snapshot of Smith’s operation suggests a serious and active trial, as seen in federal court in Washington, DC, where a parade of witnesses — including former Vice President Mike Pence — appeared before a grand jury.
By contrast, a special counsel appointed in January to oversee the handling of classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s Delaware home spent $615,000 through March and $572,000 in other parts of the DOJ. Another statement Outside represents silver. However, special counsel Robert Hurr did not officially assume his post until January, giving him a limited window for initial action before the semiannual spending reports.
The third special counsel, John Durham, $1.1 million spent In the six months leading up to March 31, he concluded his report on the FBI’s handling of the Trump-Russia investigation, which ran against Trump’s administration for much of his tenure. Because Durham’s study failed, DOJ incurred few costs for its study during that period, totaling only $59,000.
Durham, who issued his final report in May after courtroom efforts to pursue criminal charges related to the investigation had largely failed, spent about $9.4 million on the 3½-year investigation, according to DOJ figures. Durham’s investigation actually began in 2019 at the instigation of Attorney General William Barr, but Barr did not formally designate it as a special counsel investigation until October 2020. Durham’s expenses during that preliminary investigation were not included in the published reports.
Special counsel Robert Mueller, who was named in 2017 to investigate allegations of Russian influence on the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and related matters, spent about $31.45 million, including direct and indirect costs, during that investigation. A final DOJ count. His trial lasted about two years, but some staffers shut down the office for an additional year.
