The Witch Hunt Verdict: No Collusion, No Witches

After Spending A Whole Lot Of Cash And Finding No Evidence Of Collusion, The Special Counsel's Office Has Closed Their Investigation Into The 2016 Election

---

TOP TAKEAWAYS

• After 675 days, an enormous amount of manpower and resources, the Attorney General's office reported today that the Special Counsel found no evidence of collusion in the 2016 election.
• The Department of Justice also found no evidence of obstruction of justice concerning the investigation.
• The Mueller investigation will go down in history as one of the widest ranging and most expensive Special Counsel investigations ever.
  • The total reported cost of the Special Counsel's investigation through September 2018 was $25,215,853.00.
  • The cost per day of the investigation through Mueller's latest expense report, September 30^th, 2018, was $50, 230.00 dollars per day, making it the second most expensive investigation in the history of the Special Counsel's office.
  • The Special Counsel's office had at least 19 attorneys on staff, 12 more attorneys than the Starr investigation had upon commencing operations in 1994.
• After intensive investigations in Congress, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees along with the Senate Judiciary Committee all found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
  • Since May 2017, these Congressional committees held at least 28 hearings and interviewed more than 100 individuals related to their investigations into the 2016 election.
  • A combined 31 Congressmen are lawyers that sit on these committees.
  • Total committee funding during the 115^th Congress for the House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees was at least $41 million.
• The combined focus of the Special Counsel's investigation, Congressional investigations, and the focus of the media, made the 2016 Russia investigation one of the broadest and most widely scrutinized investigations in history.
  • Over the past two years, The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, and MSNBC reported extensively on the Russia Investigation, writing over 8,500 articles on the Mueller Investigation, or nearly 13 articles per day.
  • Combined, Congress and the Special Counsel's office interviewed more than 600 witnesses on the Russia Investigation.
  • Between the Special Counsel's Office and Congress, at least 50 lawyers worked on the investigation.
• To put these numbers in perspective:
  • With the $25,215,853 million dollars spent by the Special Counsel's Office, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) could attend Harvard Law School for the next 263 years.
  • The combined number of attorneys in the Special Counsel's team and lawyers serving on the Congressional Committees would make the 19 ^th largest law firm in the state of Virginia.
  • The Washington Post has written 192 more stories concerning the Russia Investigation than they have regarding the Administration's defeat of ISIS.
  • The New York Times has written 644 more stories concerning the Russia investigation than stories on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
  • CNN has written 906 more stories concerning the Russia Investigation than stories on the Trump Administration's tax cuts for the middle class.
  • MSNBC has written 4,202 total stories mentioning the Mueller investigation.

---

AFTER SPENDING MORE THAN 25 MILLION DOLLARS AND 675 DAYS INVESTIGATING, THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THERE WAS NO COLLUSION BETWEEN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND RUSSIA

On March 24, 2019, The Department Of Justice Reported That The Mueller Investigation Found No Evidence Of Collusion Between The Trump Campaign And Russia

On March 22, 2019, The Special Counsel's Office Delivered Its Report On The 2016 Election To President Trump. "After a 22-month investigation, charges against 37 defendants, seven guilty pleas and one conviction at trial, the Justice Department announced Friday that the special counsel's office has wrapped up its probe into Russian election interference, possible Trump campaign collusion with Moscow and obstruction of justice." (Jeremy Herb and Laura Jarrett, "Special Counsel Robert Mueller Ends Investigation," CNN , 03/22/19)

On March 24, 2019, The Department Of Justice Reported That The Mueller Investigation Thoroughly Investigated Allegations That Members Of The Presidential Campaign Of Donald J. Trump And Others Conspired With The Russian Government To Interfere In The 2016 Election. (Office Of The Attorney General "Letter Summarizing Mueller Investigation" Department Of Justice , 03/24/19)

The Department Of Justice Reported The Special Counsel's Investigation "Did Not Find That The Trump Campaign Or Anyone Associated With It Conspired Or Coordinated With Russia In Its Efforts To Influence The 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. (Office Of The Attorney General "Letter Summarizing Mueller Investigation" Department Of Justice , 03/24/19)

The DOJ Reported That No Member Of The Trump Campaign Or Anyone Associated With It Conspired Or Coordinated With The Two Main Russian Efforts To Influence The Election. (Office Of The Attorney General "Letter Summarizing Mueller Investigation" Department Of Justice , 03/24/19)

• The Special Counsel's Investigation Did Not Find That The Trump Campaign Or Anyone Associated With It Conspired Or Coordinated With The Internet Research Agency To Conduct Disinformation Or Interfere With The Election. (Office Of The Attorney General "Letter Summarizing Mueller Investigation" Department Of Justice , 03/24/19)

• The Special Counsel's Investigation Did Not Find That The Trump Campaign Or Anyone Associated With It Conspired Or Coordinated With The Russian Government To Hack Into Computers Affiliated With The Clinton Campaign And Democratic Organizations. (Office Of The Attorney General "Letter Summarizing Mueller Investigation" Department Of Justice , 03/24/19)

The Department Of Justice Also Concluded That President Trump Did Not Commit An Obstruction Of Justice Offense

The Department Of Justice Concluded That President Trump Did Not Commit An Obstruction Of Justice Offense . (Office Of The Attorney General "Letter Summarizing Mueller Investigation" Department Of Justice, 03/24/19)

Mueller Spending By The Numbers

Cost Of The Mueller Investigation Through September 2018: $25,215,853.00 (Chart 1)

Costs Per Day Of The Mueller Investigation Through September 30, 2018: $50,230.00 (Chart 2)

• Through September 2018, The Mueller Investigation Was The Second Most Expensive Per Day Investigation Dating Back To The Creation Of The United States Special Counsel's Office In 1979. (Ibid.)

Days The Mueller Investigation Has Proceeded: 675 Days (Chart 3)

Number Of Attorneys On The Mueller Investigation Team: 19 (Ibid)

Number Of Witnesses Who Were Interviewed Or Testified To The Special Counsel's Team: Approximately 500 (Chart 3)

Number Of Search Warrants Issued: 500 (Ibid)

Number Of Subpoenas Issued: More Than 2,800

Number Of Text Messages Exchanged By Disgraced Special Counsel Attorney Peter Strzok And Justice Department Lawyer Lisa Page: 50,000+ (Bryan Logan, "An FBI Official Booted From The Russia Investigation Over Anti-Trump Texts Exchanged More Than 50,000 Messages With An FBI Lawyer," Business Insider , 01/22/18)

Congressional Committees Investigating Mueller Had A Combined $41,856,009.00 In Funding Authorizations During The 115 th Congress

Number Of Hearings Held: 28 (Chart 4)

Number Of Reports Issued: 3 (Ibid)

Number Of Requests For Documents: 53 (Ibid)

Number Of Subpoena's Issued: 17 (Ibid)

Number Of Public Testimonies: 19 (Ibid)

Number Of Private Interviews: 102 (Ibid)

Combined House Intelligence And Senate Intelligence And Judiciary Funding During The 115^th Congress: $41,856,009.00 (Ibid)

Cumulative Number Of Lawyers On Committees: 31 (Ibid)

  The Cost Of The Mueller Investigation Combined With The Total Amount Of Congressional Committee Funding For The 115 th Congress Is A Staggering $67,071,862.00

Total Number Of Reported Interviews Or Testimonies Conducted By Congress Or The Special Counsel's Office: 600+

Total Number Of Lawyers, Committee And Special Counsel Attorneys, Who Have Participated In Investigations: At Least 50

Committee Funding Combined With Mueller Investigation Costs: $67,071,862.00

The Washington Post, New York Times And CNN, MSNBC Have Written A Combined 8,507 Articles Mentioning The Special Counsel Investigation

Articles By The Washington Post Mentioning The Mueller Investigation From May 17, 2017 Until March 22, 2019: 1,184 . (Compiled By RNC Research, Sourced From Washington Post Search Bar , Search Date 3/23/19)

Articles By The New York Times Mentioning The Mueller Investigation From May 17, 2017 Until March 22, 2019: 1,156 . (Compiled By RNC Research, Sourced From The New York Times Search Bar , Search Date 3/11/19)

Stories By CNN Mentioning The Mueller Investigation From May 17, 2017 Until March 22, 2019: 1,965 . (Compiled By RNC Research, Sourced From CNN Search Bar , Search Date 3/11/19)

Stories By MSNBC Mentioning The Mueller Investigation From May 17, 2017 Until March 22, 2019: 4,202 . (Compiled By RNC Research, Sourced From MSNBC Search Bar, Search Date 3/11/19)

From May 17, 2017 Until March 22, 2019, CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post, And The New York Times Have Written Nearly 13 Articles Per Day Mentioning The Mueller Investigation.

Russia Investigation Numbers In Perspective

For The Current Total Expenses Of The Special Counsel's Investigation, $25,215,853.00, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) Could Attend Harvard Law School For The Next 263 Years . ("LL.M. Tutiton And Financial Aid," Harvard Law School , Accessed 2/14/19)

The Daily Costs Of The Mueller Investigation, $50,230.00 Could Be Used To Buy More Than 17,000 Cups Of Coffee, Every Day. ("Starbucks Coffee Prices And Locations-Caffe Latte," Menuwithprice.com , 02/14/19)

The Mueller Investigation Has Operated With 12 More Attorneys , 19Total, Then The Starr Investigation, 7 Total, Did Upon Commencing Operations In 1994. (James Risen, "Starr Names His First Whitewater Aides," Los Angeles Times , 09/13/94)

Special Counsel Attorney Peter Strzok And Justice Department Attorney Lisa Page Exchanged At Least 23,000 More Text Messages , 50,000 +, Then Emails Hillary Clinton Deleted, 33,000 , While At The State Department. (Mike Levine, "Why Hillary Clinton Deleted 33,000 Emails On Her Private Email Server," ABC News 09/27/16)

With The Combined Budgets Of The Congressional Committees Running The Mueller Investigation, $41,856,009, House Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) Could Produce Twenty-Eight Episodes, Single Camera Half-Hour National Broadcasts, $1,500,000 Each, Of His Own News Program, "Nadler's Nonsense," On Cable Television . (Maureen Ryan and Cynthia Littleton, "TV Series Budgets Hit The Breaking Point As Costs Skyrocket In Peak TV Era," Variety , 02/14/19)

The Combined Number Of Attorneys On The Special Counsel's Team And On The Congressional Committees, 50, Would Make The 19^th Largest Law Firm In The State Of Virginia . ("50 Largest Virginia Law Firms," Virginia Business , Accessed 2/14/19)

From May 2017 Until March 22, 2019, The Washington Post Has Written 192 More Stories , 1,184 Total, Mentioning The Mueller Investigation Than They Have Written Mentioning The Administration's Defeat Of ISIS, 992 Total . (Compiled By RNC Research, Sourced From Washington Post Search Bar , Accessed 3/23/19)

From May 2017 Until March 22, 2019, The New York Times Has Written 644 More Stories, 1,156 Total, Mentioning The Mueller Investigation Than They Have Written Mentioning The Renegotiation Of The North American Free Trade Agreement, 512 Total. (Compiled By RNC Research, Sourced From The New York Times Search Bar , Accessed 3/23/19)

From May 2017 Until March 22, 2019, CNN Has Written 906 More Stories , 1,965 Total, Mentioning The Mueller Investigation Than They Have Written Mentioning The Administration's Successful Implementation Of Tax Cuts For The Middle Class , 1,059. (Compiled By RNC Research, Sourced From CNN Search Bar , Accessed 3/23/19)

 

 

Appendix

Chart 1: Mueller Expenditure Filings

Filing	Personal Compensation And Benefits	Travel And Transportation	Transportation Of Things	Rent, Communications, and Utilities	Contractual Services	Supplies and Materials	Acquisition Of Equipment	DOJ Component Expenditures	Printing And Reproduction	Cumulative Total
5/17/2017-9/30/2017	$ 1,709,597.00	$ 223,643.00	$ 156.00	$ 362,550.00	$ 157,339.00	$ 26,442.00	$ 733,969.00	$ 3,546,000.00		$ 6,759,696.00
10/1/17-3/31/18	$ 2,738,131.00	$ 532,340.00	$ 1,345.00	$ 886,403.00	$ 264,114.00	$ 29,694.00	$ 54,597.00	$ 5,476,000.00		$ 9,982,624.00
4/1/18 -09/30/18	$ 2,886,270.00	$ 580,098.00	$ 779.00	$ 942,787.00	$ 310,732.00	$ 43,334.00	$ (212,085.00)	$ 3,906,000.00	$ 15,618.00	$ 8,473,533.00
Est. Costs Next Filing Period	$ 2,444,666.00	$ 445,360.33	$ 760.00	$ 730,580.00	$ 244,061.67	$ 33,156.67	$ -	$ 4,309,333.33	$ 15,618.00	$ 8,223,536.00
Total Through Sept. 2018	$ 7,333,998.00	$ 1,336,081.00	$ 2,280.00	$ 2,191,740.00	$ 732,185.00	$ 99,470.00	$ 576,481.00	$ 12,928,000.00	$ 15,618.00	$ 25,215,853.00

 

 

 

 

CHART 2:

Administration	Special Counsel	Investigation	Start	End	Duration (Days)	Cost	(CPI Inflation Calculator)	Cost Today
Clinton	Fiske/Starr/Ray/Thomas	Whitewater	1/21/1994	9/12/1998	1695	$ 73,597,345.00	$115,388,324.38	$68,075.71
Trump	Mueller	Russia	5/17/2017	9/30/2018	675	$ 25,215,853.00	$ -	$50,230
Reagan	Walsh	North/Iran-Contra	12/19/1986	8/4/1993	2420	$ 47,873,400.00	$ 84,007,314.83	$34,713.77
Clinton	Smaltz	Espy	9/10/1994	6/12/1998	1371	$ 25,157,010.00	$ 39,441,983.00	$28,768.77
H.W. Bush	Adams, Thompson	Pierce/HUD	3/1/1990	1/12/1995	1778	$ 29,417,318.00	$ 49,085,665.10	$27,607.24
Clinton	Carol Bruce	Babbitt	3/20/1998	10/13/1999	572	$ 7,152,293.00	$ 10,890,254.71	$19,038.91
Clinton	Ralph Lancaster	Herman	5/26/1998	4/6/2000	681	$ 6,027,860.00	$ 8,840,614.01	$12,981.81
Clinton	Pearson	Brown	7/7/1995	11/14/1996	496	$ 3,861,710.00	$ 6,117,206.74	$12,333.08
Clinton	Barrett	Cisneros	5/25/1995	1/19/2005	3527	$ 18,738,624.00	$24,431,927.16	$6,927.11
Reagan	McCkay, Morrison	Olson/Obstruction Of Investigation	4/23/1986	3/14/1989	1056	$ 2,796,000.00	$ 5,743,642.42	$5,439.06
Reagan	McKay	Nofziger/Lobbying Violations	2/3/1987	12/18/1987	318	$ 2,796,000.00	$ 1,691,968.45	$5,320.66
Clinton	Zeldon, DiGenova	Mullins/Passport file Search	12/18/1992	12/1/1995	1078	$ 3,089,082.00	$5,154,434.69	$4,781.48
Reagan	Leon Silverman	Raymond Donovan/Organized Crime Connections	12/29/1981	6/29/1982	182	$ 325,200.00	$ 834,534.95	$4,585.36
Reagan	Stein	Meese/Financial Improprieties	4/2/1984	9/21/1984	172	$ 312,000.00	$ 746,520.91	$4,340.24
Bush	Fitzgerald	Plame*	12/30/2003	3/6/2007	1162	$ 2,580,000.00	$ 3,425,593.13	$2,948.01
Reagan	Seymour	Deaver/Conflict Of Interest & Lobbying	5/29/1986	8/6/1989	1165	$ 1,552,000.00	$ 3,129,322.76	$2,686.11
Clinton	Von Kann	Segal	11/1/1996	12/20/1997	414	$ 628,156.00	$ 978,385.10	$2,363.25
Carter	Arthur Christy	Hamilton Jordan/Drug Use	11/29/1979	5/28/1980	181	$ 182,000.00	$ 58,978.07	$325.85
Reagan	Rauh,Harper	Wallace/Personal Tax Matters	12/19/1986	12/18/1987	364	$ 50,000.00	$ 108,853.12	$299.05
Carter	Gerald Gallinghouse	Timothy Kraft/Drug Use	9/9/1980	12/19/1980	101	$ 3,300.00	$ 9,606.82	$95.12

CHART 3: MUELLER BY THE NUMBERS

CHART 4: CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE NUMBERS

	Senate Intelligence Committee	House Intelligence Committee	Senate Judiciary Committee	Total
Hearings Related To Russia Investigation	13	6	9	28
Reports Of Findings	2	1		3
Requests For Documents	18	11	24	53
Known Subpoenas	6	11		17
Public Testimony	6	7	6	19
Known Private Interviews	29	62	11	102
Lawyers On Committee	9	9	15	31
115th Congress Authorization	$11,031, 251 .00	$12,100,000	$18,724,758.00	$41,856,009.00

 

 

 

 

---

Media Accountability Read more research