Special counsel Jack Smith’s office has spent $35.7 million on two federal prosecutions of former President Donald Trump since 2022.
A federal judge in Florida dismissed one of those cases. The other case, in Washington D.C., remains pending after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling found presidents have broad immunity for official acts taken while in office.
Smith’s office has directly spent $19,437,874, primarily on salaries for staff members. The office reported another $16,306,612 in unreimbursed component costs, which includes non-reimbursed expenditures attributable to the investigation, such as hours worked by agents and investigative support analysts, according to public reports filed by Smith’s office.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith in November 2022. So far, Smith has secured three grand jury indictments. One in Florida accused Trump of 40 felony counts that alleged he kept sensitive military documents, shared them with people who didn’t have security clearance, and tried to get around the government’s attempts to get them back.
In July, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents-related criminal case against Trump because she said Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution. Smith has since appealed that dismissal.
In Washington D.C., Smith secured two grand jury indictments against Trump for alleged election interference. One indictment was filed before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, and another was filed after.
In July, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that presidents and former presidents of the United States have “absolute immunity” when acting on core constitutional duties and “presumptive immunity” on other matters. The 6-3 ruling found that the president has no immunity for unofficial conduct.
Last week, Trump’s defense team entered a plea of not guilty to the latest charges of election interference charges in Washington D.C. as the judge decides how to proceed.
Smith’s team and Trump’s defense team remain at odds over how to proceed with the case after the July U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Trump has said in court filings that he has spent $15 million on legal costs to defend himself in the classified documents case. It’s not clear how much he has spent on the D.C. case.
Trump has repeatedly blamed the two federal criminal cases on his political enemies trying to keep him out of the White House in 2024.
Trump faces Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election.