DOJ boosts spending on security for Jack Smith

Source: Politico | January 5, 2024 | Betsy Woodruff Swan

The Justice Department spent more than $4.4 million on protection for the special counsel’s team between April and September of 2023.

Security costs for special counsel Jack Smith, the prosecutor leading the two federal criminal cases against Donald Trump, have risen dramatically in recent months, with nearly a third of the expenses on his investigations being security-related over the latest reporting period.

Between April and September of last year, the Justice Department spent more than $14.6 million on Smith’s work, according to a spending report released Friday. More than $4.4 million of that money covered the U.S. Marshals Service, which provides security for Smith and his team, a Justice Department spokesperson told POLITICO.

The new data represents a jump from Smith’s security costs in the first four-and-a-half months of his tenure. During that initial period — Nov. 18, 2022 through March 31, 2023 — nearly $2 million went to U.S. Marshals protection, according to a person familiar with the data.

The increase comes as the special counsel has alleged in court papers that Trump’s frequent rhetorical attacks have sparked threats to his team. Trump regularly calls Smith “deranged” and impugns the integrity of the prosecutors working for him.

Special counsels are required to regularly release data about their expenses. The reports include two categories of expenses: money that Smith’s office spent from its official budget and money that other Justice Department agencies spent to assist the special counsel’s office without getting reimbursed from the office.

Smith’s office spent more than $7 million out of its own budget during the most recent reporting period, according to Friday’s report. That brings the total reported amount that Smith’s office has spent out of its own budget to more than $12 million.

Smith is overseeing two cases against Trump: one in Washington charging him with seeking to undermine the 2020 election and one in Florida charging him with hoarding classified documents after his presidency.

The increase in security spending for Smith’s team comes as numerous law enforcement and judicial officials close to politically sensitive probes have described facing threats.

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