Trump special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations have cost more than $5 million

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Special Counsel Jack Smith has spent more than $5 million investigating former President Donald Trump, according to a Justice Department tally.

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The special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump’s refusal to return classified documents as well as key aspects of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol siege, has spent $5.4 million on his tasks so far, according to a newly published financial report about his first months in office.

More than half of the money expended by Jack Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor who also once led the Justice Department unit that investigates public corruption, covered salaries for agents, lawyers and other DOJ employees. Another $1.6 million went to litigation or investigative support, the new filing said.

Smith, who has been receiving threats, is protected by a security detail from the U.S. Marshals Service. His office spent $1.9 million in salaries for marshals through March 31 of this year, the Justice Department said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith last November, shortly after Trump formally declared himself a candidate to return to the White House in 2024, and after the sitting president, Joe Biden, strongly signaled he would run for reelection.

Smith has charged Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta, with conspiracy to obstruct the probe into classified documents as well as other felony offenses. Both men have pleaded not guilty in a federal courthouse in south Florida.

The Justice Department regularly releases spending reports for its special counsels, who are…

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