GOP senators demand swift action against Biden-era ATF bureaucrats who allegedly defrauded taxpayers of $20M and still work for federal govt.

Republican Iowa Sens.Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley called on the Justice Department Monday to hold Biden-era Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives officials accountable for allegedly orchestrating an “illegal scheme” to “misclassify” administrative positions as law enforcement ones for greater pay and benefits.

 “We raised concerns because as a result of ATF’s illegal conduct, ATF staff assigned to these positions performed administrative work but unlawfully received enhanced law enforcement pay and benefits to which they were not entitled, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars,” Ernst and Grassley wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, ATF Acting Director Daniel Driscoll and DOJ Assistant Attorney General for Administration Jolene Ann Lauria. ATF whistleblowers and investigations conducted by the Office of Special Counsel, Office of Personnel Management and ATF’s internal affairs division substantiate the allegations of “illegal conduct” raised by the senators in their letter to the Trump administration officials. The internal affairs report, completed in January 2024, contains “considerable evidence of gross waste, fraud, and abuse; substantial misconduct and mismanagement; abuse of power; and potential criminal misconduct committed by and under the supervision of then-ATF Office of Human Resources and Professional Development (HRPD) Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) Lisa Boykin and HR Division Chief Ralph Bittelari,” according to the lawmakers. The senators highlight Bittelari’s alleged efforts to “fraudulently” certify an ATF workforce wellness role as a law enforcement gig – boosting pay and benefits for the position – despite receiving warnings and pushback from others at the bureau. “The illegal misclassification scheme hampered the agency’s ability to carry out its law enforcement mission,” Grassley and Ernst wrote.The pair presented evidence which appears to show that the ATF relocated 100 ...