Roll Call reported on Friday that a Republican House staffer was arrested for allegedly attempting to steal a plasma television from the Financial Services hearing room. Said an eyewitness: "There was this guy standing there, and on a dolly there was something large wrapped in cardboard...He seemed a little surprised to see me."

Now an email is floating around the Hill gives a little more detail, and adds a coda:

just found out this guy is NOT some lowpaid staff ass...he's the fucking republican chief economist on the small bidness committee!!!!

It's cute how Democrats get all Southern when they're angry.

Email after the jump.

Hill Staffer Arrested for Alleged Theft of Plasma TV From Rayburn Room [Roll Call]

UPDATE: What is a House committee doing with a plasma television, anyway? Reading the fine print?

Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 1:08 PM

Subject: FW: : FYI

Just to make you all aware...  Last evening around 10:00 p.m. a person was apprehended by the Capitol Police stealing one of our brand new large plasma TV's from one of our committee rooms in 2220 Rayburn.  At the beginning of the month, the old plasma TV had been taken from the room and had been reported missing.  One of our staff came in late to do some work last night and caught the person taking the TV in a box from the room.  Our staffer tried to stop the gentleman and he started to run away down the hall.  When our staffer pursued him further down the hall, the person dropped the box and dolly and took off down the stairs.  Our staffer followed him.  At the bottom of the stairwell they encountered a detail of Capitol Police and FBI doing planning for the Inauguration.  The police in turn pursued this person and made an arrest.

It turns out that this person is a professional staffer at the Small Business Committee.  The police believe that he took both TV's and may be implicated in other missing equipment from the building. 

I guess you never know who to trust!