Special counsel Robert Mueller’s federal Russia investigation reportedly has funding for several more months.
Even as recent reports suggest the probe might conclude in the coming weeks, three U.S. officials told Reuters that Mueller’s team has funding until the end of September, indicating that the inquiry will extend beyond the spring.
When reached for comment, the Justice Department noted the Treasury Department funds Mueller’s office, hence why Mueller’s office was omitted from President Trump’s budget request for the next fiscal year. “The Special Counsel is funded by the Independent Counsel appropriation, a permanent indefinite appropriation established in the Department’s 1988 Appropriations Act,” a DOJ spokesman said.
The two-year long investigation cost $9 million from Oct. 1, 2017, to Sept. 30, 2018, according to documents from the Justice Department. It’s uncertain how much the investigation has cost since then.
Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin. Trump has repeatedly railed against the investigation, labeling it a “witch hunt.”
