We've heard, repeatedly, that Robert Mueller's probe into Russia would be coming to an end any day now. Then it's not. Then it is again. We've been hearing that mantra for months now. And, just as Americans are bracing for an end to this long, drawn out witch hunt, it's being reported that the Mueller probe has been financed through the end of September.
The announcement was made around the same time as President Donald Trump's 2020 budget proposal. The probe isn't included in the White House or Justice Department's general budget because the Special Counsel's Office is financed by the U.S. Treasury under special regulations issued by the Justice Department.
“The Special Counsel is funded by the Independent Counsel appropriation, a permanent indefinite appropriation established in the Department’s 1988 Appropriations Act,” a Justice Department spokesman said.
From Reuters:
Ninety days before the beginning of a federal government fiscal year, which starts on Oct. 1, special counsels such as Mueller “shall report to the Attorney General the status of the investigation and provide a budget request for the following year,” according to the regulations.
Department officials said that under these regulations, a special counsel should request funding for the next fiscal year by the end of June. It is not known if Mueller is preparing such a request for fiscal year 2020.
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Mueller's probe into whether or not Vladimir Putin and the Russians coordinated with the 2016 Trump campaign began in May 2017.
President Trump has called the entire probe a "witch hunt."
As of December 14th, Mueller's probe has cost taxpayers a whopping $12,287,852. There are no current spending figures for this fiscal year.
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