Mueller’s Russia probe cost $3.2M in first four months

Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation spent $3.2 million during the first four months of his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including $1.7 million on salaries and benefits for employees, according to the first report issued on the costs.

A Justice Department report issued Tuesday on expenses associated with the special counsel’s probe includes a breakdown of direct and reimbursed expenses, such as salaries to detailed DOJ employees who would have been paid regardless of being detailed to Mr. Mueller’s team.

While the expenses associated with the special counsel’s team total $3.2 million, the report notes that an additional $3.5 million was spent during the course of the investigation on DOJ components that support the investigation. That figure “approximates expenditures the components would have incurred for the investigations irrespective of the existence of the SCO,” the report states.

The expenses detailed in the first report include a breakdown of costs between May 17 and Sept. 30.

According to the DOJ report, more than $362,000 was spent during that period on rent, communications and utilities.

Another $223,000 was spent on travel expenses, though much of that amount — approximately $220,000 — was spent on the cost of temporary relocation of DOJ employees who were detailed to the special counsel’s office. Only around $3,000 was spent on direct travel expenses.

Another $734,000 was spent on the acquisition of equipment that will remain the property of the federal government at the close of the Mueller investigation.

In addition to Mr. Mueller, the special counsel team includes 17 attorneys — five of whom were hired from outside the government. The special counsel’s office has declined to provide details on how many other people have been detailed from various agencies or divisions of the Justice Department to work on the team.

Tuesday’s disclosures provide the first opportunity to measure the cost-effectiveness of Mr. Mueller’s investigation, which has netted two guilty pleas and two indictments thus far.

The special counsel is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and any possible coordination with members of President’s Trump’s campaign.

Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, as well as his longtime colleague Richard Gates, were indicted on a series of charges related to their past consulting work rather than their work related to the campaign. Both have pleaded not guilty.

But two others associated with the Trump campaign have both pleaded guilty to charges stemming from lies they told the FBI about their interactions with the Trump campaign. George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty under seal over the summer to making false statements to FBI agents as they questioned him about his attempts to arrange meetings between members of the campaign and the Russian government.

And just last week, former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn admitted that he lied to investigators when he said he didn’t ask Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. to limit Moscow’s reaction to U.S. sanctions during the presidential transition.Some past independent counsel investigations have come under fire for high price tags.

Kenneth W. Starr’s 1990s-era investigation into President Clinton ranks as the priciest independent counsel investigation on record, costing taxpayers about $73 million and involving the work of more than 170 employees and federal government detailees.

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