Meantime, after 16 months of trying, the watchdog group Judicial Watch has finally received budget records from the Department of Justice concerning Durham's operations as Special Counsel.
They show the office's fiscal year 2022 budget was over $8.5 million.
The documents were handed over as a result of a March 2022 Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch after the DOJ failed to legally respond to an August 2021 request for records of communication between Durham and Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland, plus all budget records related to the operations of the office of Special Counsel.
The Special Counsel was authorized to investigate whether any federal official, employee, or any other person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activities directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, individuals associated with those campaigns, and individuals associated with the administration of President Donald J. Trump, including but not limited to Crossfire Hurricane and the investigation of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, Ill. The Department of Justice initially produced budget records responsive to the Judicial Watch lawsuit on June 3, 2022, but redacted the actual budget numbers.
The supplemental response includes an unredacted June 30, 2021, memo from Assistant Attorney General Lee Lofthus to Attorney General Garland with the subject line "Fiscal Year 2022 Special Counsel's Office Budget Request," showing a previously withheld estimated budget of $8,627,629.
The FY 2022 budget estimate is $4,463,525 which, after Office of Management and Budget technical adjustments for the mandatory sequester, totals $4,209,104 in available operational funds.
See detailed memorandums and budget records at this link.
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