Mueller probe has cost more than $25M so far

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election has cost the Department of Justice (DOJ) more than $25 million, according to new and previous expenditure reports.

The special counsel’s office said in a new filing Friday that the expenses for Mueller’s team over the six-month period from April 1 to Sept. 30 added up to $4.5 million.

{mosads}The bulk of those costs came from personnel compensation and benefits, which totaled about $2.9 million. Another $580,000 was spent on travel and transportation, and $942,787 was spent on rent, communications and utilities.

The DOJ, which supports the special counsel’s office, also accrued $3.9 million in costs related to the probe, which Mueller’s team noted it is not legally required to report.

The investigation into Moscow’s election interference and any possible collusion with the Trump campaign has led to criminal indictments against 33 individuals and three entities.   

Mueller, a former FBI director, was selected to lead the investigation in May 2017.

President Trump has repeatedly criticized the probe, calling it a “witch hunt.” Late last month, he accused Mueller of wasting more than $40 million to prove there was “no collusion” after Mueller accused Trump’s one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort of breaching a deal with federal prosecutors in which he agreed to fully cooperate with the investigation.