GOP Staffer Who Attacked Obama Girls Was Arrested During Her Own "Awful Teen Years" Share

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The Republican congressional aide who castigated the Obama daughters for their lack of “class” and dressing as if they were angling for a “spot at a bar” was once arrested for larceny during her own “awful teen years,” court records show.

In a November 27 Facebook post, Elizabeth Lauten criticized Sasha and Malia Obama for looking bored while their father pardoned a pair of turkeys the day before Thanksgiving. While noting that, “I get you’re both in those awful teen years,” Lauten, 31, counseled the teens to “try showing a little class. At least respect the part you play.”

In her “Dear Sasha and Malia” note, Lauten remarked that the president and First Lady Michelle Obama “don’t respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter, so I’m guessing you’re coming up a little short in the ‘good role model’ department.” Lauten concluded by urging the girls to “Rise to the occasion. Act like being in the White House matters to you. Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar. And certainly don’t make faces during televised public events.”

Until her resignation this morning, Lauten served as communications director for Rep. Steven Fincher, a Tennessee Republican. In the face of criticism about her attack on the Obama daughters, Lauten said that “many hours of prayer” helped her realize that her Facebook screed was “hurtful.”

Lauten, pictured above, was arrested in December 2000 for misdemeanor larceny, according to court records. Lauten, then 17, was collared for stealing from a Belk department store in her North Carolina hometown.

Because Lauten was a first-time offender, her case was handled via the District Court’s deferred prosecution program, which resulted in the charge’s eventual dismissal after the future scold stayed out of trouble for a prescribed period.

Since Lauten was just another teenager caught shoplifting at the mall, it appears unlikely that she was publicly pilloried for her lack of class, nor were her parents criticized as poor role models.