The London Times reports that four members of the British House of Lords are being investigated for possibly having taken bribes in exchange for legislative favors. To me, the interesting thing about this scandal is that any interest group would spend money and risk criminal prosecution by bribing the lords, since the House of Lords has only very limited influence on legislation.

For Harry Potter fans, a funny aspect of the scandal is that one of the accused lords is Lord Snape. Perhaps Snape only took the money to convince Lord Voldemort that he was truly evil and thereby further his efforts to infiltrate Voldemort's organization for the Order of the Phoenix. Voldemort himself has so far avoided investigation. Those who bribe the Dark Lord are probably too scared to rat him out.