Personally, I think the whole issue was way over-blown as usually happens with Congressional approval of appointments.  These tax issues were far from criminal... I believe that Geitner's problem stemmed from a U.N position he held and how that income is taxed is complicated and often results in erroneous returns.  Though, I do think that is quite an embarrassment for a guy who is going to be in charge of the I.R.S., I don't think it should be a disqualifying event.  The mistake was caught and he paid the tax.  In Daschel's case, he was loaned a car and driver and didn't declare the value of the services as income.  I think there are probably a lot of people out there who wouldn't think about that as taxable income - it wasn't wages and there probably wasn't a W-2 issued.  And, again he corrected his return and paid the taxes.

I don't think either of these cases are anything the I.R.S. would consider for criminal charges if the taxes are paid when the mistake is caught if the taxes are paid.  They didn't get any special favors from the I.R.S. 

Would you want someone taking such a close look at your taxes?  I have my taxes done by a professional C.P.A., but I'm sure if you looked hard enough, you could find something to complain about. 

Looking at these candidates, it would be hard to imagine that anyone could find they are unqualified for the positions.  That should be the main concern in the confirmation process.  Unfortunately, our two-party political process is such that one side will always use these kinds of petty issues for political gain. 

Best,
Robert A. Franco
SOURCE OF TITLE