The progressive blogosphere was scandalized on Thursday by some startling news about Peter G. Haller, a mid-level staff member for Darrell Issa, the Republican congressman from California.

An article posted on ThinkProgress.org said that Mr. Haller, a former Goldman Sachs vice president, had legally changed his name from Peter Simonyi to Peter Haller in 2008, shortly after leaving the investment bank. The article said that now, as senior counsel to Mr. Issa, Mr. Haller, under his new name, was trying to “thwart regulations that affect Goldman Sachs’ bottom line” by writing policy materials advocating laxer regulation.

Readers were outraged. A shape-shifter on Capitol Hill! A Goldman mole in Congress!

Well, as it turns out, the story on Mr. Haller isn’t so scandalous after all. In an e-mailed statement, Mr. Haller told DealBook that he is a descendant of a Transylvanian count, and that he changed his name in 2008 to honor a long-held family promise.

His statement reads, in part: