Special counsel Jack Smith reportedly has spent more than $50 million in his pursuit of prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump.
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Nov. 18, 2022, to investigate and prosecute Trump's federal cases. The former president then was charged with mishandling classified documents and with attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday's presidential election, pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the indictments have not come to trial.
Following the election, NBC News reported the Justice Department was looking into how to wind down the federal cases against Trump.
Newsweek on Tuesday reported Smith total expenditure despite the DOJ refusing to cooperate with a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) or communication with the federal government's Freedom of Information ombudsman.
In January, the DOJ told the outlet it did not have to reply within FOIA time limits because there are "unique circumstances" to the request because Smith's office is not officially part of the agency.
In August, Forbes reported Smith spent more than $35 million prosecuting Trump, according to disclosure reports through March.
The department has not released figures from April 1 through Sept. 30.
Using spending averages so far, Newsweek reported Smith office's total expenditure well past $50 million and likely closer to $60 million by the time Trump is inaugurated.
"Ultimately, Smith's prosecutions were a waste of taxpayer money," former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek.
"He got nowhere near trial on either case, and the election fraud indictments didn't reveal significantly more evidence than the January 6 Committee."
Attorney John Perlstein told Newsweek that Smith's expenditure "was a complete waste of resources." He added that evidence in the election fraud case was "vague at best to pursue prosecution to this degree."
"Government resources should be allocated more effectively, and I say this from the standpoint of someone who is not a supporter of Mr. Trump," said Perlstein, based in Los Angeles, California. "All of those cases never made any sense to me. And now that they will seemingly be going away, that money was wasted."
With Republicans set to control both chambers in the new Congress, the chairs of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight last week warned Smith to not purge records, communications, and documents they have requested relating to the federal prosecutions of Trump.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled Friday that Smith has until Dec. 2 to decide how the prosecution will proceed in its 2020 election interference case Trump.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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