Bush Shocked by Arrest of Former Adviser

[sabra]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/11/AR2006031100484.html

Bush Shocked by Arrest of Former Adviser
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Saturday said he was shocked and saddened to learn that former domestic policy adviser Claude Allen was charged with theft for allegedly receiving phony refunds at department stores.

"When I heard the story last night, I was shocked, and my first reaction was one of disappointment, deep disappointment _ if it's true _ that we were not fully informed," Bush said. "Shortly thereafter, I felt really sad for the Allen family."

Allen, 45, was arrested Thursday by police in Montgomery County, Md., for allegedly claiming refunds for more than $5,000 worth of merchandise he did not buy, according to county and federal authorities. He had been under investigation since at least January for alleged thefts on 25 occasions at Target and Hecht's stores.

"If the allegations are true, Claude Allen did not tell my chief of staff and legal counsel the truth, and that's deeply disappointing" the president said at the White House following an event on Iraq. "If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad."

[BOSSHOG]

1. I'm shocked bush admitted knowing the guy

[cantstandbush]

22. I'm shocked that any criminals in this admin get arrested. n/t

[goclark]

2. Mr. Resident, something went wrong in our lives ~ you

and your Posse, including Allen.

Sounds like a need for drug money to me.

[fed-up]

3. Shocked that Homeland Security was not listening to their wiretaps to hear

about it first.

Big Brother fell down on the job!

[peekaloo]

4. Imagine that....a Bu$hit adviser that doesn't tell the truth.

:o

[54anickel]

5. He's shocked and disappointed the "we were not fully informed" WTF?

And check out the attempted whitewash....

The night of Jan. 2, after an alleged incident at the Target in Gaithersburg, Md., presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said Allen called White House chief of staff Andy Card to tell him what had happened. The next morning, Allen spoke in person with Card and White House counsel Harriet Miers.

McClellan said Allen told Card and Miers that it was all a misunderstanding and cited confusion with his credit card because he had moved several times. "He assured them that he had done nothing wrong and the matter would be cleared up," McClellan said.

The president first learned of Allen's planned departure and the January incident in early February. But since Allen had passed the usual background checks and had no other prior issues that White House officials were aware of, "he was given the benefit of the doubt," McClellan said.

[durtee librul]

48. Didn't Gannon pass a 'background' check as well????1

:+

[Demeter]

6. Wait Until Sandra Day and Gale Norton Come Up For Trial

Then he'll REALLY be shocked.

[formercia]

7. Fearless Leader truly is 'Lord of the Flies' n/t

[CAG]

8. * shocked friend Claude Allen charged. * shocked Delay charged. * shocke

d friend Abramoff charged. * shocked friend Kenny-Boy charged. * shocked friend Rush charged for oxycontin. * shocked white house aide charged with spying. * shocked friend Duke Cunningham charged.

[CAG]

9. How could I forget?? * shocked friend Libby charged.

* shocked Rove NOT charged yet.

[stillcool]

43. and David Safavian

"The Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal reached into the White House," Dan Froomkin wrote (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/09/20/BL2005092000753_pf.html) in the September 20, 2005, Washington Post, "picking off" President Bush's "top procurement official -- who just barely had time to resign before being arrested."

"Mr. Safavian had recently been working on developing contracting policies for the multibillion-dollar relief effort after Hurricane Katrina." Safavian's "wife, Jennifer Safavian, is chief counsel for oversight and investigations on the House Government Reform Committee, which is responsible for overseeing government procurement and is, among other things, expected to conduct the Congressional investigation into missteps after Hurricane Katrina," Philip Shenon and Anne E. Kornblut wrote

(http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/politics/20lobby.html?pagewanted=all) in the September 20, 2005, New York Times.

The Capital Athletic Foundation paid $120,000 in August 2002 for Abramoff, Ney , Ralph Reed and then-General Services Administration Chief of Staff David Safavian to go to St. Andrews to play golf with a stop in London on way back. "Ney later claimed that the trip’s purpose was to raise money for a foundation, but there were no fundraising events during the course of the trip." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55283-2004Sep27.html?nav=rss_nation)

[nebula]

16. Is there anyone working for Bush who isn't a thief?

Now that would be a real shock. And a first.

[ldf]

27. but is he SHOCKED a male prostitute

had a revolving door pass to the whitehouse for "rendering services"?

ok, my little bit of spin, but you know it's true....

:shrug:

[truthisfreedom]

10. you, sir, are really sad.

i'm shocked.

[sattahipdeep]

11. Bonnieleezza-UAE & Claude

http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/UAE/195061



:hi:

[PassingFair]

19. Karen Hughes

SCARES ME :scared:

She REALLY does.

She's scary. That's all. :scared:

[gratuitous]

12. All that warrantless wire-tappin' and surveilling

And Bush doesn't even know what's going on in the life of his good friend and domestic policy adviser Claude Allen? Tut, tut. This surely doesn't augur well for this corrupt administration's ongoing excuse parade for breaking the law.

[0007]

13. junior should know now how the American people feel about being lied too

"If the allegations are true, Claude Allen did not tell my chief of staff and legal counsel the truth, and that's deeply disappointing" the president said at the White House following an event on Iraq. "If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad."

[Ian David]

14. So much for his career as Government Mystery Shopper Czar n/t

[nebula]

15. He tried to claim $5,000 worth of refunds in one day??

How does he expect to get away with such a large amount??

The store employees would immediately become suspicious of someone trying to refund such an unusually large amount. What an idiot!



Pic of Allen with Bush:

[WillyT]

17. Another Pic Of Allen !!!

Claude Allen, in a photo provided Friday by police.

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11770707/

I sure hope police around the D.C. area are stocking up on mugshot supplies. Seems that they're gonna need plenty of 'em.

:shrug:

[Catshrink]

18. I'm shocked to find gambling going on.

Your winnings sir...

[tabasco]

28. Gambling in Casablanca?!

I'M SHOCKED !

[Blue_Tires]

51. beat me to it

[The Backlash Cometh]

20. God, there are so many things that can be said about this.

Too easy.

[truth2power]

21. I'm gonna puke!!!...

"If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad."

Oh, really, Mr. Worthless POS President(sic)? I thought you were the one who thinks that people who fall on hard times have only themselves to blame. They should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and not whine about previous events that may have contributed to their present situation. Huh? ...Huh??...

Goddammit!...It's not even noon and I already have my daily quota of sh*t from this misadministration. :argh:

[Catrina]

46. Yes, but see, Claude didn't fall on hard times, that's why Bush can

sympathize with him. Claude is not a poor, hard-working, minimum-wage, worker who was trapped in a drowning city who went to a store to try to get life-saving water and food for those around him who were dying while they waited for Claude and Brownie, Chertoff and Condi, Bush or Cheney, or ANYONE to send in some help!! Now THAT is someone Bush would not have any understanding of.

Caude was quite influential in this administration ~

Can we start collecting Bush administration mug shots somewhere? They'll make great posters for the upcoming election, but I'm already losing track. I know something went wrong in their lives, and it's probably not fair to do this, but this was going to be the administration that 'restored honor and decency' to the WH.

Also pictures of those mugshottted individuals with Bush, including of course everyone's favorite phony journalist asking Bush some questions at a press conference. If Democrats lose this next election, I will definitely believe they did it on purpose ~

[deminks]

23. I hope Smirky is shocked at his own arrest, soon.

I know, wishful thinking. And for Smirks to talk about being told the truth; he wouldn't be able to recognize the truth if it bit him in the behind.

[ldf]

30. "bit him in the behind"?

hey, that's jimmy-jeff's job.

(my theme for the day...)

:-)

[rodeodance]

24. gee, someone did not tell Bush the truth (AGAIN)

......"If the allegations are true, Claude Allen did not tell my chief of staff and legal counsel the truth, and that's deeply disappointing" the president said at the White House following an event on Iraq. "If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad."

[VegasWolf]

25. Sounds like another cokehead in the Bush administration. nt

[rodeodance]

26. look---WH knew ealier he had problems

Allen, who had been the No. 2 official at the Health and Human Services Department, was named as domestic policy adviser at the White House in early 2005. He resigned abruptly on Feb. 9, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

The night of Jan. 2, after an alleged incident at the Target in Gaithersburg, Md., presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said Allen called White House chief of staff Andy Card to tell him what had happened. The next morning, Allen spoke in person with Card and White House counsel Harriet Miers.

McClellan said Allen told Card and Miers that it was all a misunderstanding and cited confusion with his credit card because he had moved several times. "He assured them that he had done nothing wrong and the matter would be cleared up," McClellan said.

The president first learned of Allen's planned departure and the January incident in early February. But since Allen had passed the usual background checks and had no other prior issues that White House officials were aware of, "he was given the benefit of the doubt," McClellan said.

[rodeodance]

29. He abruptly resigned FEB. 9---(saying needed more time with family).

He resigned abruptly on Feb. 9, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

[sakabatou]

31. My god what an asshat

[Alpharetta]

32. The department store should apologize

for letting this happen to the Bush administration.

[VegasWolf]

37. ROFL!! Spitting coffee on my keyboard! nt

[Nostradammit]

40. Exactly!

If they hadn't put that customer service counter right there, poor Mr. Allen would never have bumped into it.

[Infomaniac]

50. Very Funny

I wouldn't be surprised if Target gets leaned on to go easy on this guy.

[liberal N proud]

33. bu$h is always surprised when things don't go right for him

He thinks the world revolves around him and every one and every thing should bow to him.

Something went wrong?

[WillyT]

34. Allen's Resume Here:

Link: http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/allenresume.htm

:shrug:

[WillyT]

35. And... Bush Nominated Him To The Federal 4th Circuit A While Back !!!

<snip>

Dear Senator Hatch and Senator Leahy:


I am writing on behalf of People For the American Way and our more than 600,000 members and activists to express our opposition to the confirmation of Claude Allen, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Our review of Mr. Allen’s record reveals that he is not suited for the federal bench, particularly because of his lack of relevant legal experience and his troubling history of ideologically-driven policy decisions.


Mr. Allen lacks the legal experience necessary to serve as a federal judge. A 1990 graduate of Duke University School of Law, Mr. Allen has held political appointments in the health policy field since 1998. The American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Judiciary’s rating criteria for federal judicial nominees states that ordinarily a nominee should have been admitted to the bar for at least twelve years and should have been engaged in the practice of law during that time. The fact that Mr. Allen has dedicated no more than eight years of his career to the practice of law may be among the reasons the ABA gave him its lowest passing rating – “qualified,” with a minority voting “not qualified” -- in considering his fitness for the federal bench.


In addition, throughout Allen’s career, he has exhibited an extreme ideology that raises serious questions about whether he would be able to set aside his personal feelings and follow the law. For example, in his role as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Allen has been the Bush administration’s “point man” on highly controversial and unproven abstinence-only sex education1, a movement to replace all other forms of sex education with programs that teach that abstinence is the only way to effectively protect one’s self from pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Abstinence-only grant recipients are not even permitted to discuss contraceptives, except to explain they are “ineffective.” Allen has also been harshly criticized for the removal of condom information sheets from the CDC web site – a move that was criticized as having more to do with ideology than with health concerns.


Allen has also shown a disregard for the rights of patients and their families to make end-of-life care decisions free from government interference. During his tenure as Secretary of the Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, Allen was a key figure in a fight to prevent Michelle Finn from having her husband, Hugh, disconnected from life support after a car accident left him in a Persistent Vegetative State. After a court ruling determined that Mrs. Finn had the right to determine the course of her husband’s treatment, Allen’s DHHS intervened in an attempt to prevent her from exercising her rights as his guardian. According to press accounts, Allen sought out family members who had initially objected to removing life support and personally “pressed the family of comatose man hours before his life-sustaining feeding tube was to be removed to consider whether the state should intervene to stop the action . . . even as state attorneys pondered ways to keep the tube in place without the family’s blessing.”4 Allen’s intervention was unsuccessful, and Finn’s feeding tube was removed. Responding to the news that Claude Allen had been nominated to the federal bench, Michelle Finn said, “any judge has to be able to set aside their own personal and moral convictions to protect the public interest. His actions in my husband’s case show that he’s incapable of doing that.”

<snip>

Link: http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=12690

:shrug:

[NYC]

39. Recommended for federal judge???

That's quite interesting. Thanks, WillyT.

I guess this is why Bush was trying to reward him with a seat on the federal bench:

...throughout Allen’s career, he has exhibited an extreme ideology that raises serious questions about whether he would be able to set aside his personal feelings and follow the law. For example, in his role as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Allen has been the Bush administration’s “point man” on highly controversial and unproven abstinence-only sex education1, a movement to replace all other forms of sex education with programs that teach that abstinence is the only way to effectively protect one’s self from pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Abstinence-only grant recipients are not even permitted to discuss contraceptives, except to explain they are “ineffective.” Allen has also been harshly criticized for the removal of condom information sheets from the CDC web site – a move that was criticized as having more to do with ideology than with health concerns.

[IChing]

53. No, his real resume is here, screw the US dept of justice bullshit resume

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x634913

[deminks]

36. Photo of Mr. Allen and Smirks

to refresh memories if need be.



http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060311/photos_pl_afp/31332b71346a1c030be8e10e5b4f597b

US President George W. Bush (L) speaks with Claude Allen (R) as they walk on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, March 2005. Bush has said he was in shock when he learned a former top aide had been arrested for allegedly defrauding retail stores.(AFP/File/Paul J Richards)

[WhiteTara]

49. my caption.."You mean they didn't tell you how to get money

through the lobbyists?"

[sattahipdeep]

59. dna would tell us

Could be.........look at him.

[Rex]

38. Shocked I tell you! Shocked and awed!

That the little criminal runt went for such small potatoes. I mean, Bush would scoff at such a petty crime. Disappointed in the small fry crime. Now the S&L scandal of the 80s, THAT was a theft!

Hey Bush, you suck, your parents suck, all your friends suck and even your pets suck ASS.

[Wilms]

41. K&R n/t

[aden_nak]

42. Wow, is there anything that doesn't shock Bush lately?

That whole "I didn't know!" excuse only works so many times before people realize you're either lying or incompetent.




Or both.

[tandot]

44. nobody could have anticipated that I have criminals working for me

...nobody could have anticipated the breach of the leevies...nobody could have anticipated terrorists flying planes into buildings...nobody could have anticipated that Iraq did not have WMDs......nobody could have anticipated that I am such a stupid f*ck...

[cspanlovr]

45. Junior should just use his daddy's line...

"I was not in the loop"

[Swede]

47. Shocked he was careless and got caught.

Just about par for the course.

[Cocoa]

52. Bush instructs all his people to steal big

what a disappointment Allen engaged in such petty theft.

[Disturbed]

54. Shrub , the "Know nothing" pretend Prez.

This assclown is a Sock Puppet". That will be his defense in the Impeachment hearing. "Uh... those NSA wiretaps without warrents were done without my knowledge but Yeah I still say they were legal." " I was told that there were WMDs and a nuklar program in Iraq and I believed Tenet when he said, "Slam dunk."

[tomreedtoon]

55. I'm SHOCKED his theft was so PETTY!

Didn't Bush teach him that when you steal, you steal big?

[Marie26]

56. Compared to the BILLIONS

Halliburton is stealing, this is absolutely nothing. If this happened to a Democrat, we'd all be up in arms about how the media is devoting so much time to a petty charge. To me, this signifies that the media is truly done protecting Bush - they've turned on him Clinton-style. And it also shows the right-wing PR machine breaking down. Where was Rove to hush this up? Where is that propaganda machine we know & love? Right now, it seems like the Republicans are just running around in circles in a panic. They have no plan left.

[bedazzled]

57. bush is at his worst when he has to fake human concern

he is smarmy and vile. i bet if you could have seen the statement, he was smiling and smirking

[eppur_se_muova]

58. "There were so many others who deserved it more". nt