DOJ Muffin Myth Revealed: $16 Was Cost of Entire Continental Breakfast; Revised Report Is Issued
An audit report issued last month got a lot of press when it accused the U.S. Justice Department of spending $16 per muffin at a legal training conference in 2009.
Never mind. The $16 was the cost of an entire continental breakfast that included fruit, coffee, juice and other pastries, the Washington Post reports. A revised report issued Friday by acting Justice Department Inspector General Cynthia Schnedar admits the audit erred when it concluded the DOJ spent $16 per muffin.
The inspector general’s office says it reached the wrong conclusion because the Justice Department division that sponsored the event, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, did not turn over documents with the details.
In a preface to the revised report, Schnedar said she hopes the correction “does not detract from the more significant conclusion” that the DOJ needs to do a better job of controlling expenses, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. The report still refers to some high prices, the Post says. Some examples include beef Wellington hors d’oeuvres that cost $7 a serving, and a $76-per-person lunch at a conference in San Francisco.
