Pawlenty Staffer Arrested In Iowa

Politico reports:

An Iowa staffer for Tim Pawlenty was suspended by the campaign Wednesday after being arrested earlier in the day for public intoxication and trespassing.

Benjamin Foster, 24, was charged and booked by Polk County police at 4:11 a.m. in Johnston, Iowa, according to the sheriff’s office. He was released at 8:27 a.m. after posting $600 in bail.

Foster started work for Pawlenty’s Iowa and federal Freedom First PAC during the 2010 midterm election cycle, coordinating Pawlenty’s multiple trips to the state. He holds the distinction of being the first full-time Iowa staffer for any potential 2012 contender. He was paid more than $6,000 by the federal PAC for political strategy consulting in December, the most recent month for which records are available.

In an interview with Des Moines TV station KCCI, 15-year-old Chloe Seward said she found Foster trying to get into her house in Ankeny at 3 a.m.

"His arm was in my back door, trying to get in and I screamed and went upstairs to my parents room and I continued screaming," she told the station.

Pawlenty’s presidential exploratory committee placed Foster on a two-week unpaid suspension Wednesday afternoon.

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