Special counsel Robert Mueller has cost American taxpayers another $4.5 million.
According to a new statement of expenditures released on Thursday showing expenses between Oct. 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018, most of the money — $2.78 million — was spent on personnel compensation and benefits.
Mueller also announced an additional $5.476 million had been spent separately on the investigation by Justice Department officials not on Mueller’s team. He stated those costs “would have incurred” regardless of his own work and appointment by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
A statement of expenditures released in December showed the investigation had cost roughly $6.7 million through that point, dating back to Mueller’s appointment in mid-May 2017.
This means nearly $17 million has been spent on roughly one year of work for Mueller, which has resulted in dozens of criminal charges and five guilty pleas.
[One year down, and it’s still Mueller time]
Mueller was appointed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible links with the Trump campaign, as well as any other crimes, including obstruction of justice, that are uncovered during the course of his investigation.
The Justice Department’s Justice Management Division reviews the special counsel’s expenditures every six months.
The newest expense report will likely make its way to President Trump, who slammed the investigation last week.
“At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP! They have found no Collussion with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren’t looking at the corruption…” he said on Twitter last weekend.
