In March, Claude Allen, a top White House domestic policy advisor and favorite of Christian conservatives, was caught in a two-bit shoplifting scheme in which he'd return items he hadn't actually purchased. At the time, Allen said there had been a mix-up with his credit card. He was lying -- but he'll still avoid a jail sentence.

A former White House policy adviser, who was arrested in March and charged with multiple counts of shoplifting, pleaded guilty Friday to a single count, in a plea agreement under which he will pay a fine and make partial restitution but will avoid having a criminal record if he completes probation successfully.

The former official, Claude A. Allen, was initially charged with stealing more than $5,000 of merchandise from Target and other retailers in a fraudulent-return scheme.

The maximum sentence was 18 years in prison, which means Allen got off remarkably easy. He'll serve two years of supervised probation, perform 40 hours of community service, pay a $500 fine and make restitution of $850 to the Target Corporation. And as the NYT noted, Allen will be able to practice law again because there will be no conviction on his record.

As for Allen's explanation for his bizarre criminal conduct, he blamed Hurricane Katrina.

This guy has worked in Republican politics for 22 years. This is the best excuse he can come up with? I always assumed they taught more creative responses in How-To-Be-A-Republican school.

--Guest Post by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report