RantCrush Top 5: April 11, 2017

Agents at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) used money from a secret account to finance vacations and other inappropriate charges. They used the account to pay for a trip to Las Vegas and to rent a $21,000 suite at a Nascar race.

They also used the money to pay for undercover operations even though it’s illegal to use private money to fund federal work. The ATF has refused to reveal who authorized the account, but it was first created by agents in Virginia when they were looking into cigarette smuggling. Allegedly, the money in the account is “a hybrid” between private and government money, which is also not allowed. According to the New York Times, agents also had their credit card bills paid by the secret account.

From personal experience #ATF agents are pretty reckless but this is bananas: https://t.co/LhvoCXZSRf

— Andrew M. Stengel (@stengellaw) April 11, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.