My general rule of thumb on political stories is to only cover them if there’s some kind of celebrity or juicy-gossip angle. This story has a celebrity angle, in some really amazing ways. This isn’t even the first time I’ve written about Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Illinois) – last year, Rep. Schock was “outed” online after he seemed to be living his life one way (allegedly he’s gay) while supporting fervently anti-LGBT legislation. Anyway, Rep. Schock resigned in disgrace yesterday from the House of Representatives. Rep. Schock has been mired in some pretty amazing controversy for several months, and it kept getting progressively worse for the young congressman with each passing day. Schock was supposed to be one the bright future leaders for the GOP – he’s handsome, adept at social media, friendly and not a rage monster. Moms could look at him and say “what a nice young man!” Then it all went to hell. Here’s a laundry list of Schock’s transgressions.

*The whole scandal exploded when the Washington Post published photos and a story about Rep. Schock’s crazy Downton Abbey-themed Congressional office. Go here to see the photos of his office. When I say “Downton Abbey-themed” I mean red walls, black candles, gilded sconces, crystal chandeliers and pheasant feathers.

*It wasn’t just that Schock made the questionable choice to decorate his DC office like a Downton Abbey set – taxpayers initially paid thousands of dollars for the decorations. Schock had to reimburse the government for $40,000 (for pheasant feathers and gilded sconces).

*Schock got thousands of dollars in fraudulent reimbursement for mileage (on his car). That’s thousands of dollars defrauded from the taxpayers.

*He used public funds to charter private planes so he could watch the Chicago Bears play.

*He spent thousands of dollars on other questionable “business trips.” The money came from public funds AND campaign funds. And he liked to charter private planes for every trip.

*He spent campaign money on massages. And taking his congressional interns to see a Katy Perry concert.

When he announced his resignation he said: “Today, I am announcing my resignation as a Member of the United States House of Representatives effective March 31. I do this with a heavy heart. Serving the people of the 18th District is the highest and greatest honor I have had in my life. The constant questions over the last six weeks have proven a great distraction that has made it too difficult for me to serve the people of the 18th District with the high standards that they deserve and which I have set for myself. I have always sought to do what’s best for my constituents and I thank them for the opportunity to serve.”

It’s widely believed that Schock is only resigning now so he won’t have to face a long and embarrassing investigation by the House Ethics Committee. The committee doesn’t have the jurisdiction on ex-House members. But I’m guessing that some federal prosecutor of even a local Illinois prosecutor is taking a hard look at all of this.

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of Getty, Men’s Health, Aaron Schock’s social media.