From tjhe White House to the Big House

Former Top Bush Aide Accused of Md. Thefts:

"Claude A. Allen, who resigned last month as President Bush's top domestic policy adviser, was arrested this week in Montgomery County for allegedly swindling Target and Hecht's stores out of more than $5,000 in a refund scheme, police said."

According to a list published in the Washington Post last fall, Mr. Allen was among 16 White House aides at the top pay grade of $161,000 per year, the same salary as Chief of Staff Andy Card and head political guru Karl Rove. And they caught him stealing from retailers.

Mr. Allen is also a former number two man at Health and Human Services. The last time I can recall such a high former official being arrested was when Stuart Udall, who had been Secretary of the Interior for eight years under Kennedy and Johnson, was caught leaving a drug store with a pack of cheap cigars in his pocket.

The Bush administration should be thanking the Washington Post for the headline on this story. If you read down to the sixth graph, you find that Bush had nominated him for a seat on the 4th Circuit Court in 2003.