(NaturalNews) Imagine for a moment you are appearing in court for money laundering. What do you think your chances are of being acquitted if you admitted you laundered cash, but said you did so only because you were conducting research into how the system of selling drugs actually worked? If you said slim-to-none, you'd probably be right. That is, unless you're a federal agent.In what has become the epitome of the double standard, federal officials are defending the actions of Drug Enforcement Administration agents who have laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in narcotics money, just to see how the system works.Now, consider that laundering drug money is nothing new. It's been going on since there were illicit drugs and drug money. Which begs the question: Why would the DEA have to "learn" how the money laundering system works? And in doing so, hasn't that helped the violent drug cartels who are responsible for killing thousands of people?"The high-risk activities raise delicate questions about the agency's effectiveness in bringing down drug kingpins, while underscoring diplomatic concerns about Mexican sovereignty, and blurring the line between surveillance and facilitating crime," the New York Times reported. "As it launders drug money, the agency often allows cartels to continue their operations over months or even years before making seizures or arrests."But wait. Surely agents themselves wouldn't be tempted by all these millions ofuntraceable dollars, would they? Michael S. Vigil, a former senior agency official who is currently working for a private contracting company, told the Times, "We tried to make sure there was always close supervision of these operations so that we were accomplishing our objectives, and agents weren't laundering money for the sake of laundering money."Other former D.E.A. officials said such efforts had better be tied to results. "Otherwise, the D.E.A. could wind up being the largest money launderer in the business, and that money results in violence and deaths," said one. Well, it's a federal operation, right? What could go wrong?Ever hear of Operation Fast and Furious