If only Donald Trump were as good at real estate as Harry Reid, the boy could have made something of himself.

When one of Harry Reid's land deals was exposed by the Associated Press late last year, he was only Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate.  Now he's Majority Leader, in some part, we are reliably told, because voters rebelled against congressional corruption.  Oh well, history is strewn with failed rebellions.

This time, investigative reporters Chuck Neubauer and Tom Hamburger of the Los Angeles Times captured the story. 

Here's the essence:  "In 2003, Reid (D-Nev.) paid $10,000 to a pension fund controlled by Clair Haycock, a Las Vegas lubricants distributor and his friend for 50 years.   The payment gave the senator full control of a 160-acre parcel in Bullhead City [Arizona] that Reid and the pension fund had jointly owned.  Reid's price for the equivalent of 60 acres of undeveloped desert was less than one-tenth of the value the assessor placed on it at the time.

"Six months after the deal closed, Reid introduced legislation to address the plight of lubricants dealers who had their supplies disrupted by the decisions of big oil companies.  It was an issue the Haycock family had brought to Reid's attention in 1994, according to a source familiar with the events.

"If Reid were to sell the property for any of the various estimates of its value, his gain on the $10,000 investment could range from $50,000 to $290,000."

Oh, and by the way, the Times had previously disclosed, last November, that Reid "has pushed for federal funding for a new bridge over the Colorado River a few miles from his property."  The proximity must have been coincidental.

Those who are of such mind should read the entire story.  It's detailed, complicated, with the expected denials of any wrongdoing by anyone, anytime, anywhere, including past lives.  It'll keep you going until the next one.

Do you think there should be a Senate ethics investigation?  Of course you do.  Do you think it would do any good?  Of course you don't; we write for certified smart people who know exactly how the world works, forever without end.

There was a Senate Ethics Committee investigation of Reid's earlier excellent adventure in real estate, the one that grossed him $1.1 mil on a $400,000 investment.  Did we mention that he was then Minority Leader of the Senate and now he's Majority Leader?

At any given time, there are 535 men and women in the U.S. Congress.  Many of them serve their terms with no blemishes whatsoever on their service.  Repeat offenders like Reid amply make up for their lapses.

If you really want a tough ethics question, here it is:  Shouldn't the Justice Department be paying Congressman William Jefferson, Democrat of Louisiana, interest on that $90,000 in cash confiscated from his freezer if he's never going to be indicted?