Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has been licking his chops at the thought of the mischief he can undertake as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee - starting today, when his party assumes control of Congress.
Indeed, he once was speaking openly of an impeachment drive against President Bush - until incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi put the kibosh on it.
But Conyers' credibility as the Democrats' moral watchdog was shredded by the dubious deal he just struck with the House Ethics Committee - which was made public late last Friday in a holiday-weekend bid to avoid publicity.
After a probe lasting more than three years, the committee declared that Conyers has "accepted responsibility" for a series of House rules violations involving the use - and abuse - of his staffers.
According to published reports, Conyers used several staffers as his personal servants - requiring them to babysit and tutor his children, chauffeur him to personal events, help his wife with her law-school classes, work on his campaigns and pay restaurant and motel bills.
One staffer was even ordered to move into Conyers' home for six weeks and serve as a live-in nanny to his kids.
Sound familiar? It should.
New York's state comptroller, Alan Hevesi, just lost his job and pleaded guilty to a felony for doing a lot less with taxpayer-funded employees.
But John Conyers isn't losing anything.
Not the chairmanship of the judiciary committee, which Pelosi reiterated last Friday would go to the Michigan congressman despite his transgressions.
Nor is he facing any other kind of sanction from the House.
In fact, he didn't even really admit any wrongdoing - just a "lack of clarity" in explaining to his staffers what they are and aren't required to do.
Whatever that means.
Conyers, by the way, is no congressional novice. He's been a member of the House for no less than 42 years.
But as long as he follows some new procedures, the Ethics Committee declared, "This matter will remain closed and the committee will take no further action on it."
Including making public whether or not the allegations against Conyers are true.
That's a pretty astonishing way to dispose of accusations about practices that labeled "unethical, if not criminal" by one of Conyers' own chiefs of staff - who then resigned, saying she "could not tolerate [them] any longer."
And the fact that the committee's Republicans went along with it speaks volumes as to why the GOP is now in the minority - not to mention the extent of the unseemly mutual back-scratching that permeates Capitol Hill.
Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats promised to do something about ethics once they took control of Congress.
Here's a very good place to start - by finding someone else to head the Judiciary Committee.
