What Do They Have in Common?

Remember all the fun late night comics had over the Senator from Idaho who did a little toe tap in a Twin City restroom and was laughed out of office. Well get this, he's back in hot water for using campaign funds to cover his more then $200,000 defense fee. His lawyers argued that using campaign money for a legal defense over his 2007 arrest was proper because, wait for it, he was arrested while on official business. Not to be confused with getting his business done, officially.

Larry Craig, a Republican from Idaho, was arrested during a sting at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Craig used a bathroom there during a layover, when an undercover officer said Craig sexually solicited him by tapping his foot. Craig had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor but after his case became public he tried to renege. Now, the Federal Elections Commission is suing him for using more than $216,000 in campaign money for that legal fight.

The Judge overseeing the suit, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, reminded Craig of his prior guilty plea. Referring to his statement 'That had no connection to his duties, other than being in an airport,' and citing a letter that was written by Craig and his lawyers to the Senate Ethics Committee in 2007 describing Craig's arrest and conviction as 'purely personal conduct unrelated to the performance of official Senate duties.'

Compare this case to others like former Democratic California Rep. Gary Condit, who used more than $100,000 in campaign funds for attorneys during a 2001 police investigation into missing intern Chandra Levy. New York Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel used more than $300,000 from his political action committee to pay attorneys during a 2009-2010 House ethics investigation. Former Florida Republican Rep. Tom Feeney used more than $100,000 in campaign funds to pay attorneys during a 2007 ethics investigation.

Republicans soliciting sex? Democrats skipping out on paying taxes? The only thing these politicians seem to be able to agree on is that they hate paying lawyers out of their own pocket. A sentiment that I can wholly get behind, especially when you consider that there are far more lawyers then any other profession in congress.