​​Close to $4 million spent in Durham investigation in first year

Special counsel John Durham has spent close to $4 million during the first year of his investigation of the FBI’s probe into possible links between Russia and then-candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

According to a Department of Justice filing released on Wednesday, the special counsel’s office incurred roughly $2.36 million in expenses between April 1 and Sept. 30 this year, including close to $800,000 in contractual services such as litigative support and IT services and more than $280,000 in travel expenses.

The Justice Department previously released filings showing that the special counsel’s office spent about $1.45 million from Oct. 19, 2020, to March 31.

That earlier report said that close to $14,000 had been used for travel expenses and another roughly $209,000 had been used for contractual services, mostly IT services. The second report indicates that activity between April 1 and Sept. 30 ramped up in Durham’s investigation.

The investigation has so far resulted in several indictments and charges, including attorney Michael Sussman in September for allegedly misrepresenting who he worked for when he spoke to the FBI in 2016. 

Analyst Igor Danchenko was also indicted in early November for allegedly lying to the FBI during interviews between January 2017 and November 2017.

Republicans have been anxiously awaiting the full report, with some calling for it to be made public once it is finished.