U.S. Department 

of Justice 

Special Counsel’s Office 

Statement of Expenditures 

May 17, 2017 through February 25, 2020 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying Statement of Expenditures summarizes the cumulative financial activity of 

the Special Counsel’s Office (SCO) for the period May 17, 2017 through February 25, 2020. It 

is the final report of the SCO operations. As an organization within the Department of Justice, 

the SCO was required to comply with the rules, regulations, procedures, practices, and policies 

of the Department of Justice.1 SCO management was responsible for designing, operating, and 

maintaining a system of internal control to enable the SCO to accurately report its financial 

information to the Department and meet the requirements of applicable laws and regulations. In 

addition, SCO management was responsible for ensuring that controls existed to meet the 

requirements of DOJ Order 2030.4G, Control of Funds under Apportionment. 

The Department recognized the importance of maintaining adequate internal control and is 

committed to the continuous improvement and oversight of financial management controls. The 

Department utilized a network of internal review groups that provided assistance to components 

with their internal control programs. As part of the Department’s annual assessment of internal 

control over financial reporting, the Justice Management Division, Internal Review and 

Evaluation Office conducted reviews of SCO business processes related to budget, obligations, 

human resources, and financial reporting during the assessment periods of May 17, 2017 through 

February 25, 2020. The reviews identified no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in 

the design or operation of SCO controls. 

The Department dedicated and leveraged resources to maintain strong program and financial 

management controls. Management took its program and financial accountability seriously and 

was dedicated to ensuring that funds were used in a responsible and transparent manner. 

1 28 CFR 600.7 - Conduct and Accountability. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Special Counsel's Office 

Statement of Expenditures 

For the period May 17, 2017 through February 25, 2020 

Investigation 

Expenditures 

Administrative 

Closeout 

Final 

Expenditure 

Total 

May 17, 2017 to June 1, 2019 to 

Direct and Reimbursed Expenditures (note 1) May 31, 2019 February 25, 2020 

Personnel Compensation and Benefits (note 2) $9,783,239 ($341,343) $9,441,896 

Travel and Transportation of Persons (note 3) 1,580,897 (53,483) 1,527,414 

Transportation of Things 2,509 5 2,514 

Rent, Communications, and Utilities 3,061,075 (32,764) 3,028,311 

Printing and Reproduction 15,618 (6,725) 8,893 

Contractual Services (note 4) 1,045,641 214,000 1,259,641 

Supplies and Materials 114,024 - 114,024 

Acquisition of Equipment (note 5) 805,749 (215,000) 590,749 

Total SCO Expenditures (note 6) $ 16,408,752 $ (435,310) $ 15,973,442 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Special Counsel’s Office 

Notes to the Statement of Expenditures 

For the Period May 17, 2017 through February 25, 2020 

Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies 

A. Reporting entity: On May 17, 2017, Robert S. Mueller III was appointed by then-acting 

Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein to serve as Special Counsel to conduct the previously 

confirmed FBI investigation of the Russian government's efforts to interfere with the 

2016 presidential election and related matters. The Special Counsel’s Office (SCO) 

effectively closed on May 29, 2019, with the resignation of Special Counsel Mueller. 

This statement presents total expenditures for the investigation, broken out by the periods 

of active investigation and administrative closeout, and includes direct-funded, 

reimbursed, and non-reimbursed expenditures. This statement includes additional 

administrative costs and adjustments associated with closing the SCO and is the final 

statement of expenditures for the investigation conducted by Special Counsel Mueller. 

B. Funding: SCO expenditures were funded by 1) the permanent, indefinite appropriation 

for independent counsels (IC Appropriation) (28 U.S.C. § 591 note), which the 

Department of Justice (DOJ) determined was legally available to fund this SCO 

investigation (see also Government Accountability Office opinion agreeing with DOJ that 

this appropriation was legally available to fund special counsels (B-302582, Sept. 30, 

2004)); and 2) the direct appropriations of DOJ components who had incurred nonreimbursed expenditures in support of the SCO. Expenditures funded through the IC 

Appropriation are a combination of expenses directly incurred by the SCO and expenses 

incurred by other components of DOJ and reimbursed by the IC Appropriation. 

C. DOJ component expenses: Although neither legally required nor reported in prior 

Special Counsels’ Statements of Expenditures, DOJ components that supported this SCO 

were asked to track expenditures attributable to the investigation. These cumulative 

expenditures total approximately $15,550,000. Of this total, $185,000 was previously 

reported as an unbilled, anticipated SCO expenditure. Because the amount remained 

unbilled upon final close-out, it is now included in the DOJ component non-reimbursed 

expenditures in this final report. The balance of the non-reimbursed expenditures is 

expenditures the components would have incurred for the investigation irrespective of the 

existence of the SCO. 

D. Basis of accounting: The statement has been prepared on an accrual basis of accounting, 

in which expenses are recorded when incurred, regardless of when cash is exchanged. 

Accrual accounting uses estimates to capture costs that are not available at the time of 

reporting. These estimates can vary from actual expenditures. Amounts reported under 

administrative close-out in this statement include final adjustments to account for 

differences between estimates and actual expenditures as well as expenditure 

reclassifications between object classes. These adjustments, in addition to the amount 

identified in Note 1C, are displayed as negative amounts. 

Note 2 – Personnel Compensation and Benefits 

• IC Appropriation: $9.4 million was expended for salaries and benefits, including: 

o $3.4 million for SCO employees 

o $6.0 million for reimbursable DOJ employees detailed to the SCO 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Special Counsel’s Office 

Notes to the Statement of Expenditures 

For the Period May 17, 2017 through February 25, 2020 

Note 3 – Travel and Transportation of Persons 

• IC Appropriation: $1.5 million was expended for travel, including: 

o $76,000 for SCO direct-funded travel 

o $1.4 million for temporary duty relocation of DOJ employees detailed to the SCO 

Note 4 – Contractual Services 

• IC Appropriation: $1.3 million was expended for contractual services, including 

$911,000 for IT services. 

Note 5 – Acquisition of Equipment 

• All non-capitalized personal property equipment purchased using IC appropriation funds 

has been retained by the federal government.