A big question now: Who pays costs?

A Utah congressman and the federal judge who acquitted two Salt Lake Olympic bid leaders on bribery charges have questions about what may have been an enormous expenditure to prosecute the pair.

U.S. District Judge David Sam wants to know how much it cost to bring Tom Welch and Dave Johnson to trial.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, wants to know whether the federal government should reimburse court costs incurred by the pair.

Related content: Duo refused to cave in Jurors would have found pair not guilty A big question now: Who pays costs? Prosecutors went after 3 others before Welch, Johnson Acquittal reactions Reactions to Olympic bribery case acquittal 2002 Games scandal chronology Judge Sam's rebuke Acquittal decision transcript (PDF document) Editorial: A fitting end to the scandal

"Now that the court has determined that enough is enough and brought this misplaced prosecution to conclusion, I would be interested in knowing how much taxpayers' money was spent in investigating and prosecuting Mr. Welch and Mr. Johnson over the past six years," the judge said.

Sam made the statement Friday during a stinging criticism of federal prosecutors for advancing a case he described as void of criminal intent.

A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman in Washington, D.C., said he has no idea how much was spent.

"How do you get a cost estimate for a trial that ended today — abruptly, I might add," Bryan Sierra said.

Attorneys for Welch and Johnson are considering going after the government to collect some legal fees.

"A lot of fees remain unpaid," Johnson's attorney, Max Wheeler, said, despite an agreement with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee to cover the cost of their defense.

SLOC settled with Welch and Johnson last year for an undisclosed amount after making a deal with its own insurance company over the nearly $4 million spent to defend the organization and its employees in the government's investigation of the bribery scandal.