Hold the $10 Brownies and $16 Muffins, Report on Hefty DOJ Conference Expenses Suggests
It isn’t just law firms that know how to spend lavishly on food, an audit report (PDF) released yesterday by the acting Department of Justice inspector general makes clear.
The department paid nearly $10 per brownie and $16 per muffin at a 2009 legal training conference in Washington, D.C., which added up to total bills of of $4,200 for 250 muffins and $2,880 for 300 cookies and brownies, recounts the Washington Post.
The report found a total of $121 million was spent on 1,832 conferences in 2008 and 2009 that the DOJ either hosted or participated in. It suggested that more needs to be done to comply with a May 2009 internal memo from Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden.
“I want to emphasize the need to maximize our financial resources, ensure we are prudent in our spending, and avoid the fact or appearance of extravagant spending, especially during these challenging financial times,’’ he wrote.
Additional coverage:
The Atlantic: “$16 for a Muffin?! A Justice Department Boondoggle”
Updated at 7:10 p.m. to link to Atlantic post.
