Thieving White House Adviser: Katrina Made Me Do ItA 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.