Within four months, $9.2 million has been spent, and the investigation into the Trump case incurs significant expenses. Federal | Prosecutor | Trump
Jack Smith, a special prosecutor appointed by the US Department of Justice, is leading two federal criminal investigations against former Republican President Donald Trump, using a significant amount of manpower and financial resources. According to a report by The New York Times on July 23, the Smith investigation team's expenses have reached $9.2 million in the four months since November last year; Based on this estimate, its annual expenses may reach 25 million US dollars.
Out of the $9.2 million already spent, $1.9 million was used to hire US law enforcement officers to protect Smith and his family, as well as some investigators under threat on social media.
According to reports, members of the Smith team include 40 to 60 prosecutors, legal assistants, and work assistants. FBI agents and technical experts rotate to join the team to supplement manpower.
A survey led by the Smith team attempted to confirm Trump's role in the Capitol riot, with particularly broad implications. Trump lost in the presidential election held in November 2020. His supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, attempting to prevent both houses of Congress from certifying the election results. They clashed with security personnel, resulting in 5 deaths and approximately 140 injuries.
Tracing down members of the Capitol building riot has become one of the largest investigations in the history of the US Department of Justice. During peak hours, all 56 offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and multiple federal prosecutor's offices were involved. More than 600 FBI agents and co investigators have been assigned tasks related to the case.
Several officials from the Ministry of Justice insist that the department has sufficient budget and manpower, and that the Trump case has not taken up any other investigative resources. However, various signs indicate that the Ministry of Justice is under tremendous pressure.
The federal prosecutor's office located in Washington D.C. has filed over 1000 cases against rioters in the Capitol building, and its personnel are overwhelmed by the massive amount of videos, testimonies, and investigation documents that need to be processed. The office subsequently spent millions of dollars to create an internal information management system to organize the evidence collected by federal investigators. The federal prosecutor's office and the federal public defender's office in other regions have also sent personnel to Washington to provide support.
The situation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation is similar. Except for the offices in the capital Washington, several FBI offices across the United States have sent personnel to assist in the investigation. Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriat revealed in a letter to Republicans in the House of Representatives in June that the Smith team has hired about 26 FBI agents to participate in two investigations against Trump, with occasional additions.
The New York Times also mentioned that Robert Miller, the special prosecutor who led the "Russia to Russia" investigation during Trump's presidency, spent approximately $8.5 million over six months. The investigation into Russia took nearly two years to complete, and Miller ultimately decided not to prosecute Trump.
Trump was the first former president in American history to be criminally charged. Smith has filed 37 federal charges against Trump for improper handling of confidential documents and subsequent obstruction of document retrieval during his resignation. The investigation into the relationship between Trump and the Capitol riot is nearing completion. Trump received a notice of investigation from the prosecution on the 16th, which means that Smith may soon make new charges against Trump.