Top White House Official Had Been Arrested

On the same day that the Secretary of the Interior resigned amidst concerns over the ties her office had to Jack Abramoff, new information came to light about Claude Allen, the former Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, who resigned a few weeks ago "to spend more time with his family".

As always when that cliched excuse is given, it was a lie.

The real reason? Well let's look at the police report... Yes, the police report:

...On January 2, 2006, a Target store Loss Prevention Manger observed an unknown man enter the store located at 25 Grand Corner Avenue in Gaithersburg. He was observed in the store with an empty Target bag in a shopping cart. The man was then seen selecting merchandise throughout the store and placing items in the Target bag. He put additional items in his cart. The man then went to guest services where he produced a receipt and received a refund for the items he had just selected from the store shelves. After receiving the refund he left the store without paying for the additional merchandise in the shopping cart. He was apprehended by the store employee.

The Target Loss Prevention Manger contacted Montgomery County Police and through the police investigation it was learned that Allen had been receiving refunds in an amount exceeding $5,000 during last year. Some of the fraudulent returns were made at Target stores and some at Hecht’s stores. He would buy items, take them out to his car, and return to the store with the receipt. He would select the same items he had just purchased, and then return them for a refund. Allen is known to have conducted approximately 25 of these types of refunds, having the money credited to his credit cards...

Petty thief. How appropriate, no?

White House chum (and neocon extraordinare) John Podhoretz pretends not to know him.

John, you are too precious!

So who was he? Digby has a short summary-

Allen is not just some nobody. He was one of Bush's closest advisors and was paid at the very highest salary level along with Rove and Bartlet and a very few others [Jeremy's note: He made $161,000 a year]. He is an extreme social conservative who the Democrats were able to keep off the federal bench when Bush nominated him for a lifetime appointment [Jeremy's note: Bush unsuccessfully nominated him for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2004]. (Let's give the Democrats some credit for doing something right on that one.)

He also had previously been a top aide at the Department of Health and Human Services. He was reportedly placed there on Karl Rove's orders in an attempt to appease the religious right because of Allen's reputation for opposing homosexuality, abortion, and safe-sex education.

He also ran the White House's Katrina Task Force. Heck of a job.

This really makes you wonder what other criminals are lurking inside Bush's White House, no? Besides, of course, George W. Bush (spying), Donald Rumsfeld (torture), Karl Rove (treason), Dick Cheney (secret energy meetings)... etc etc... Honor and integrity has truly been restored to the White House at last.

[PS- Here's the AP report- Ex-White House Adviser Charged With Theft]