Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter has announced that he is launching a formal probe of the Justice Department's handling of the Padilla case and may hold a public hearing.
Another criticism U.K. politicians made for the police's handling of the phone-hacking probe was their failure to inform those who may have been victims.
That number includes the cost of the actual Mars probe and its launch, as well as the cost of the NASA crew handling its journey to Mars for almost a year before it started transmitting.
The case unfolds as the SEC faces harsh criticism and Congressional investigations into its handling of allegations by a former SEC staffer, Gary Aguirre, that his probe two years ago into possible insider trading by a prominent hedge fund and a prominent investment banker were squelched by the agency because of political favoritism.