In its first 10 months, special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation cost nearly $17 million.
Mueller's office released a report on six months' worth of costs Thursday. About half of the nearly $10 million spent in that time went to things like staff salaries and travel for the special counsel's office. The other half went to Department of Justice expenses that supported the special counsel's investigation.
This is the second expense report from Mueller. The previous one covered the first four months of the investigation and detailed almost $6.8 million in special counsel and DOJ expenses.
It's no secret President Donald Trump wants Mueller's investigation to be over, and recently he pointed to the cost as one reason why.
But those costs haven't been fruitless. So far, Mueller's investigation has netted five guilty pleas, and three pending cases have 17 listed defendants facing dozens of charges.