The Justice Department's snack 'boondoggle': By the numbers

$16 muffins? $5 per Swedish meatball? Some rather excessive federal spending on conference goodies is drawing plenty of unfriendly scrutiny

This simple meal of coffee and a muffin cost members of the Justice Department attending a recent conference a minimum of $20.96.
(Image credit: Image Source/Corbis)

Not since the $640 toilet seats and $434 hammers at the Reagan-era Pentagon has Washington been so atwitter over inflated expenses. According to a new report from the Department of Justice inspector general, the DOJ broke the bank on its conference budget, paying outrageous amounts for meals and snacks during the last year of the Bush administration and first year of the Obama era. Here, a look at the DOJ's food-and-beverage "boondoggle," by the numbers:

$73.3 million

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us