Reading Room Document

(1) Travel and expense reimbursement for attendance at meetings of regular members on ABA Antitrust Council. (2) Travel and expense reimbursement for making speeches.

The OLC advised that (1) a Department of Justice official’s participation as a member in ABA quarterly council meetings had no connection with their official duties and thus the travel and expenses generated could not be reimbursed by the department. However, the official would be authorized to accept such reimbursement from the ABA Council. The OLC also advised that (2) a Department of Justice official invited by a private group to give a speech regarding a subject that was related to their government work should not accept reimbursement for their own and their spouse’s travel expenses from the private group. In these circumstances where the official accepted the invitation as part of their official duties, their travel and per diem expenses should be paid by the government. The official could accept such expenses from private groups if they were invited to speak on a subject that was not clearly related to the government’s business.

April 16, 1974