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.

A spokesperson for Johnston confirmed to The Denver Gazette that this is the final payment under the contract.

Johnston’s office has long maintained that the mayor did not ask to attend the hearing, but has “worked very hard” to keep expenses to “the absolute minimum while still offering the mayor and the City of Denver legal counsel befitting a hearing of this magnitude and consequence.”

City financial records obtained by The Denver Gazette referencing payments for Johnston’s legal bill contain only a single line entry of “legal services” related to a congressional hearing.

“The costs include extensive in-person preparations for the hearing as well as months of thorough document review concerning the totality of not only the migrant response but research into local law and practices,” Jon Ewing, a Johnston spokesperson, told The Denver Gazette in December. “We did not ask to attend this hearing, but took being called before Congress extremely seriously and prepared accordingly.”

According to the contract, the firm agreed to “discount” its 2025 rates and provide a blended, all-attorney rate of $1,000 per hour for all partners, counsel, and associates, and $595 per hour for all professional staff — staff attorneys, paralegals and the like.

Johnston’s office declined a request from The Denver Gazette for itemized invoices that break down costs for items such as document production, billing for counsel and professional staff, and whether the city covered any transportation and lodging for the firm.

A spokesperson for Johnston said the documents would not be released because they “contain attorney-client privileged information.”

It’s likely that Denver taxpayers may never know what they paid for.

City officials have said the hiring of outside counsel for such cases is not unusual and allows city attorneys to stay focused on city matters.

“The city regularly enters into contracts with outside counsel to provide specialized legal expertise or to address a need for additional capacity,” said City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Melissa Sisneros in a statement to The Denver Gazette in February after the firm was hired. “This legal counsel allows the city of Denver’s leadership to focus on delivering the high-quality services residents expect and deserve, while navigating complex legal matters, including federal government actions.”

But why did it cost so much?

Correspondence between Covington and Burling Partner Dana Remus and Acting Denver City Attorney Katie McLoughlin suggested the team was concerned about potential litigation after the hearing. 

Johnston — who, along with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and New York Mayor Eric Adams, appeared before Congress — was there to answer questions about Denver’s “sanctuary” policies and the city’s response to the illegal immigration crisis, which spilled over from the southern U.S. border into America’s interior cities.

None of the four mayors has been criminally charged or removed from office since. To date, only the City of Boston has faced legal action.

On Sept. 4, 2025, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the City of Boston, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and the Boston Police Department and police commissioner over Boston’s “sanctuary city” laws that interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of its immigration laws.