Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Donald Trump two years ago — which he chose to dismiss this week — may have cost American taxpayers more than $50 million, according to Justice Department expense reports.
Financial disclosures from the Office of Special Counsel show that from mid-November 2022, when Smith was appointed special counsel, through March 31, 2023, his office incurred approximately $9.25 million in expenses. A second statement showing office expenses for the next six months shows that office spending increased to $14.66 million. Meanwhile, the third cost report, the latest available, showed that as of Oct. 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, Smith's office spent about $11.84 million.
These costs include both direct and indirect costs, the latter being provided by various agencies of the Department of Justice.
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Cost figures for the months between April 1, 2024, and September 30, 2024, have not been released, but the average of the three reported periods is approximately $12 million.
When that estimate is added to the figures for the three reporting periods that have been publicly reported, the amount spent by Smith's office since he was appointed comes to about R47,5 million.
The updated indictment against former President Trump, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira is pictured, July 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
However, this estimate does not include any expenses from September 30 to now, so the total amount spent is probably more than $50 million, Newsweek reported earlier this month.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith in November 2022 to oversee the federal investigation into Trump's alleged meddling in the 2020 election, and his mishandling of classified documents.
After an extensive, nearly two-year investigation, and other charges that saw Trump turn himself in to authorities in exchange for a gun, Smith filed a motion Monday to have the charges against the former president dismissed, citing procedural standards that prevent prosecution of a sitting president.
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Jack Smith speaks during a news conference in Washington, DC, on Aug. 1, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The judge in charge of the election interference case agreed to drop the charges, while a decision on the classified documents case was pending as of Monday evening, according to the Associated Press.
Trump responded to the judge's decision on Monday, calling the investigation into him “empty and illegal,” adding that they “should never have been brought.”
“This has never happened in our country before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, before naming federal prosecutors and district attorneys, such as Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who said. Trump said he “improperly, inappropriately and probably illegally campaigned to 'GET TRUMP.'
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department and the White House for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.
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