The bill for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s legal defense for that March 5 hearing before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on “sanctuary” cities has reached its $2 million contractual limit.
Just as the year closed out on Dec. 30, a fifth payment, in the amount of $950,000 — almost half of the value of the entire contract — was made from the city’s general fund to Covington & Burling LLC, the D.C.-based law firm that represented Johnston and the city during the highly publicized congressional hearing.
The payment now brings the total for Johnston’s defense to $2 million, the exact payment cap set forth by the contract city officials entered into shortly before the hearing in Washington, D.C.
Under the one-year contract, which expires Jan. 31, 2026, the city will pay lawyers a “discounted” rate of $1,000 per hour, with a maximum cap of $2 million…