But it's nothing to get excited about. There's worse.
You see, the legislator in charge of writing national tax code, Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel, doesn't even know how to pay taxes. The House congressional ethics committee is probably so busy sorting out Rangel-related issues it doesn't have time for much else.
Rangel, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, apparently forgot about that villa in the Dominican Republic (claiming, laughably, that a language barrier kept him from paying up). He also is accused of abusing his rent-controlled apartments, doling them out to his family, and other tax-related problems.
We all slip up sometimes. We don't all run powerful committees. And if we did, we may have the decency to step down. Not Rangel.
It is instructive to note that the week Democratic Rep. William Jefferson faces 16 charges, including bribery, racketeering, fraud, money laundering, yada, yada, yada is the week Republican Sen. Ted Stevens is wrapping up his own trial on corruption charges.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have lined up to vouch for the unimpeachable honesty of Stevens.
It's nice to see bipartisanship at work. You know, on the important issues.