Reading News 4U: Mueller’s Russia probe cost $3.2M in first four months

FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2013, file photo, former FBI Director Robert Mueller is seated before President Barack Obama and FBI Director James Comey arrive at an installation ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington. A veteran FBI counterintelligence agent was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russian election meddling after the discovery of an exchange of text messages seen as potentially anti-President Donald Trump, a person familiar with the matter said Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

VietPress USA (Dec. 5th, 2017): The daily average expenditure of Trump and his family cost to taxpayers US$ 3 Million during first 9 months of his presidency. While Special Counsel Robert Mueller spent almost US$ 3.1 from Taxpayers for investigation of Trump's campaign 2016 election meddling with Russians.

The result is that 4 big Trump's campaign advisers  have been charged, including:

1- Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates were indicted in October with 12 counts. They pleaded not guilty and had been ordered under house arrest.

A Republican strategist and longtime Washington operator, Manafort became Trump's campaign chairman in spring 2016. With just under three months to go until the presidential election, Manafort resigned amid questions over his campaign role and extensive lobbying history overseas, particularly in Ukraine, where he represented pro-Russian interests.

2- Rick Gates is a longtime business associate of Manafort and served as his deputy on the Trump campaign. 

Like Manafort, Gates also was charged with 12 counts, and his alleged crimes are not related to his role in Trump's campaign.

3- Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser pleaded guilty in October to making a false statement to the FBI after he lied about his interactions with foreign nationals, including two Russians, with ties to the Russian government.

The FBI said Papadopoulos "falsely described his interactions with a certain foreign contact who discussed 'dirt' related to emails" concerning Clinton. Records also describe an email between Trump campaign officials suggesting they were considering acting on Russian invitations to go to Russia.

4- Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty in December to lying to the FBI about conversations with Russia's ambassador.

He disclosed that he is cooperating with the special counsel's office and became the first person inside the Trump's administration to be charged in Mueller's probe. 

The retired lieutenant general started advising Trump on national security in early 2016. Flynn targeted then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the chant, "lock her up" during the Republican National Convention. When Trump took office in January 2017, Flynn served as his national security adviser, but resigned after less than one month amid questions about his links to Russia.

According to a statement of offense filed in court, Flynn conducted several calls with senior officials on the Trump transition team about his discussions with then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak related to US sanctions of Russia. He and Trump advisers discussed US sanctions three times, and Flynn, then called Kislyak to ask that Russia not respond too harshly to US sanctions, the statement of offense said. He also spoke with Kislyak about an upcoming UN Security Council vote condemning Israel's policy regarding settlements in the occupied territories, the legal document says.

Flynn lied to investigators about these calls with the ambassador, according to his guilty plea and the criminal statement of offense. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines, though the judge could impose a harsher or lighter sentence.

It is today the office of Special Cousel Robert Mueller declares the cost of US$3.2 million in first 4 months of investigation about Trump's 2016 campaign meddling with Russians.

Read this news from Washington Times here: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/5/muellers-russia-probe-cost-32m-first-four-months/?utm_source=onesignal&utm_campaign=pushnotify&utm_medium=push

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

By Andrea Noble - The Washington Times - Tuesday, December 5, 2017

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.

SEE ALSO: Mueller to invite criticism by revealing taxpayers’ tab for Russia investigation

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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