« Once a Fan, Always a Fan | Main | Bush Makes Some Gains With His Base »
March 15, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 3/13 Claude Allen and Carla Martin
Both of these were too big to ignore and we here at Political Sports found it impossible to decide which was bigger. Carla Martin, a lawyer for the TSA, was found responsible for coaching witnesses in the 9/11 trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. As a result, the witnesses will not be allowed to testify, thus endangering the success of the government's case. The Washington Post reports:
The decision guts the case that prosecutors had been building in their attempt to have Moussaoui executed for the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Legal experts said it devastated the prosecution's main argument -- that if Moussaoui had not lied to the FBI about his knowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001, plot, the hijackings could have been prevented. The witnesses are airline security experts who would have testified about the measures the government would have taken had the truth been told.
Claude Allen the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and a nominee to 4th Circuit Court of Appeals before he resigned to "spend more time with his family" last month. He had also been the coordinator for the post-Katrina mess. It now turns out that he was accused of multiple instances of shoplifting, for items amounting to $5000. This is a young man who some on the right considered to be the next Clarence Thomas. Wow! (TimesDispatch)
Claude A. Allen, the former White House aide charged with two theft counts, admitted to a store investigator that he made fraudulent returns of merchandise he hadn't bought, according to police records.
The admission came after an incident Jan. 2 at a Target store in Gaithersburg, Md., when a store investigator had apprehended Allen, according to the police statement supporting criminal charges.
The police statement, contained in court files, also alleged that fraudulent refunds by Allen over time potentially added up to more than $5,000 and that he was captured on video in six incidents between Oct. 29 and Jan. 2.
For their fumbling efforts they are co-winners of this week's award.
Posted by Chip Spear at March 15, 2006 9:26 AM