White House Adviser Claude Allen: 'Katrina Made Me Shoplift'

[kpete]

Thieving White House Adviser: Katrina Made Me Do It
By Justin Rood - August 4, 2006

A dispatch from the McClatchy Newspapers Washington Bureau:

Former White House adviser Claude Allen tearfully pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge Friday, telling a Montgomery County judge that he lost his bearings after working 14-hour days and getting little sleep in the "tumultuous time" after Hurricane Katrina.

"Something did go very wrong," said Allen, who began crying during his remarks to the court. "I failed to restrain myself ... I did not appreciate what was going on."

That's right, folks: Katrina made him shoplift. On twenty-five separate occasions.

The judge gave Allen two years' criminal probation, 40 hours of community service, and $1350 in fines. If he stays out of trouble for the length of his probation, the conviction will be removed from his criminal record.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001276.php

[Ezlivin]

1. Katrina made me cry and smoke a lot of good pot

And it made me give money and time to help people.

It made my wife work at local church to help the survivors. And she's an atheist.

Katrina should have made Americans do a lot of things. Shoplifting doesn't come to mind.

[im10ashus]

2. Shoplifting is hard work.

Good job Allen! :sarcasm:

[agates]

3. Didn't he try

to blame his evil twin right after his arrest?

[leveymg]

4. Weakness of character is a job requirement for this Administration.

Along with kleptomania and the incompetence to get caught.

Is this the only guy who's actually been fired by Dubya?

[Botany]

6. NO

HE QUIT TO SPEND MORE TIME W/ HIS FAMILY

[leveymg]

9. Eyes rolling. Not even Claude or Brownie could get fired?

Guess you have to tell the truth to your Congressman to get canned by this Administration.

[zippy890]

5. I liked this part

"The judge noted that Allen already has suffered public humiliation for his arrest, and said he appreciated that Allen accepted responsibility for the crimes without trying to make excuses.

"You are a classic example ... of the fact that shame is not dead," Johnson (the judge)said."

:rofl:

don't exactly know why I find this so funny, except in an ironic sort of way - here is the only case where a bushie has shown shame.

[im10ashus]

8. LOL!

Shame is indeed alive and well...in the * administration.

[ck4829]

7. Did he believe that he was 'finding' stuff instead of shoplifting?

[Penndems]

10. What a fifty-pound crock of crap

I was working fourteen to twenty hours a day in the Executive Office of the President. So were 2,500+ other people. It certainly didn't provoke us to go out and shoplift (or anything else illegal, for that matter). If he couldn't stand the heat, he shouldn't have been there to begin with.

Get help, Claude, and stop blaming others for your problems. There's a shrink's office in every office building in D.C. You're a kleptomaniac, pure and simple.

[Xeric]

11. this was a premeditated scam

Not just a momentary lapse like (maybe) a shoplifter could claim. He did this several times. The "shame" he feels is for getting caught, not for committing the crime. The boo hoo in court is one of those time honored cons that creeps like him use.

[Penndems]

12. Thank God he didn't work on Capitol Hill - he'd have a nervous breakdown

They pull all-nighters when Congress is in session. One filibuster, and Claude would go off the deep end.

Yep, Allen is a crook, pure and simple. He got his jollies from getting five-finger discounts at Target and Hecht's. The guy's got problems only a psychiatrist can help him sort out.

[Xeric]

14. hey, up on capitol hill

They're stealing serious big bucks. Not this penny-ante stuff. This guy just didn't have what it takes.

[Penndems]

18. LOL! All right now, Xeric . . .

:spank:

There's a lot of good guys and gals up there - mostly on our side of the aisle. The general public may not hear from them, but they're there, being effective public servants.

You're right, though - there is some serious pilfering going on in the Hill. Here's hoping the crooks are gone, sooner rather than later. :) :hi:

[originalpckelly]

13. Personally, I would have said, "The Devil made me do it."

At least the judge would have had a chuckle.

[Swamp Rat]

15. Just for that he deserves 40 days in Orleans Parish Prison!

:grr:

[Fleshdancer]

16. I'm confused now

Did he steal the items from Target or did he find them?

Sorry. Bad joke. Couldn't resist. ;)

[Nikki Stone 1]

17. If the stress of working 14 hour days made everyone shoplift, we'd have

an epidemic.


Claude, you lying sack of shit.