Washington (CNN) One day after special counsel Robert Mueller publicly refused to exonerate President Donald Trump and hinted at potential impeachment, the President responded Thursday with an avalanche of widely debunked lies about the investigation and its findings.
Over a few hours Thursday morning, Trump spread several lies and falsehoods about the Russia investigation, Mueller's findings, the cost of the probe, and the legal restrictions that Mueller faced when grappling with the possibility of a President who broke the law.
More fact-checking on CNN's Facts First page
Here's a breakdown of Trump's comments.
Cost of the investigation
In a tweet, Trump said the Mueller probe cost "$40,000,000 over two dark years."
Facts First: It's not clear where Trump is getting his numbers. The latest information from the Justice Department goes through September and says Mueller-specific expenses were around $12 million. Mueller's final price tag will be higher than that, but the data isn't public yet.
The Justice Department spent another $13 million investigating Russian meddling, costs that would have been incurred even if Mueller weren't appointed. That's a total of $25 million, though the price tag will be higher because that doesn't cover the last seven months of the probe. It's unlikely that the final amount for Mueller will reach the $40 million figure claimed by Trump.
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