Former White House adviser charged with theft

A former domestic policy adviser to President George W. Bush has been charged with theft for allegedly receiving phony refunds at department stores. Claude Alexander Allen, 45, was arrested Thursday by Montgomery County police for allegedly claiming refunds for more than $5,000 worth of merchandise he did not buy, according to county and federal authorities. Allen was the No. 2 official in the Health and Human Services Department when Bush nominated him in April 2003 to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. Bush nominated Allen to the court again a year later, but he never received a Senate vote.