The latest Bush appointee to be engulfed in scandal is Claude Allen, 45, arrested by Montgomery County, Md, police for allegedly claiming refunds for more than $5,000 worth of merchandise he did not buy.  This particular even happened at a neighborhood Target store, but it was not the first time Allen has engaged in this type of scam.

The winner of best headline on this one is from the Ottawa Sun, “Bush crony charged with retail rip-offs”.  There is also an interesting article on black Republicans (which in itself should be an oxymoron) in the Huffington Post.

Allen got his early hate training as a young Republican while working just out of college as a press aide to the infamous North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms.  In 1984 when Helms was running against North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt, Allen was quoted by a North Carolina reporter saying then Gov. Hunt was vulnerable because his campaign could be "linked with the queers." Allen went on to say that the Hunt campaign could be connected with homosexuals, labor unions, radical feminists and socialists.

He went on to earn his JD from Duke University in 1990, then went on to a career in private practice in the early 90’s and served in the Virginia Attorney General Office in the late 90’s.  In 2001, Allen was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

In 2003 Bush nominated Allen to become a federal judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Allen was classified as under qualified by American Bar Association standards.  He only had 2/3’s of the minimum requirement of 12 years legal experience and had only served as lead attorney on one court case ever. 

During his confirmation hearing, Allen was questioned about his use of the word "queer" when he was a press aide to Sen. Jesse Helms.  Allen told the Senate Judiciary Committee he meant the word in the sense of "odd, out of the ordinary, unusual" instead of as a slur against gays.  Nobody bought it – the remark was even called “insincere” by  Marcia Kuntz, director of the Judicial Selection Project at the Alliance for Justice.

Democrats (back when they had a spine) filibustered the nomination. Allen eventually asked that his name be withdrawn from consideration.

After the failed the judicial appointment attempt, in January 2005 Bush engaged some corporate welfare and hired Allen as a domestic policy adviser.  That same month Allen was nabbed at a Target store in Gaithersburg, Maryland, for returning unpurchased goods.  After this confrontation at the store, Allen called White House chief of staff Andy Card that night and told him what had happened.   The Republicans then began their usual cover-up procures by having Scott McClellan explain away the incident as simple confusion with his credit card.

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

Of course there was more to this resignation than meets the eye.  Authorities said Allen has been under investigation since at least January for alleged thefts on 25 occasions at Washington-area stores.  Goods included everything from clothing to stereo equipment and items worth as little as $2.50.  Allen was not formally charged on the January 2 incident until after a thorough review of security video and credit card activity going back to 2005.

President Bush said when he learned of the March arrest, he was shocked to learn of the arrest, and deeply disappointed that the White House had not been "fully informed." 

The emperor still has no clothes.