Tom Noe, who is perhaps best known for allegedly using his connections to high-ranking GOP officials in Ohio to ream the state for upwards of $50 million and who has also been accused of illegally funneling money to the Bush reelection campaign, might soon be causing headaches for the new White House chief of staff, Josh Bolten.

James Drew and Steve Eder of The Toledo Blade, which has been doing a phenomenal job of tracking this story, report in today's paper that an investigation has been opened to look into allegations that Noe used his position in the Treasury Department to enrich himself.

In the months before Tom Noe came under scrutiny for his state-funded rare-coin venture, he used a federal appointment to forge relationships with U.S. Mint officials that opened doors for him on Capitol Hill, documents obtained by The Blade show.

And before he was brought down by scandal last year, the coin dealer helped persuade Congress -- for the first time in the nation's history -- to authorize the minting of a 24-karat gold coin.

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Documents and interviews reveal that Mr. Noe -- who has pleaded not guilty to a 53-count felony theft and corruption indictment for his handling of Ohio's rare-coin fund and not guilty to federal charges that he laundered money to President Bush's re-election campaign -- courted Mint officials at high-price restaurants in Washington, sought information on behalf of fellow coin dealers about future coins to be minted, and pushed the Mint and lawmakers to use higher-grade metals in the nation's coins.

There has been quite a bit of talk in recent days that the shuffle at the top of the Bush administration -- swapping out Andy Card and promoting Bolten from the Office of Management and Budget -- could stem the problems currently afflicting the White House. Simply put, it ain't gonna happen.

After entering the White House in January 2001, George W. Bush hired too many crooks to serve in influential positions. Senior presidential advisor Lewis Libby, indicted. Chief procurement official David Safavian, indicted. Senior domestic policy aide Claude Allen, indicted. Treasury Department appointee Tom Noe, indicted. This list is not limited to the White House, either, with powerful Republicans like former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Ohio Governor Bob Taft, Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher, former Connecticut Governor John Rowland, former Illinois Governor George Ryan, former GOP super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and others all facing serious legal problems.

While there is no question that the Democrats will need to lay out a positive agenda before the election, as I'm certain they will, it would be a terrible blunder for the Democrats should they opt not to make Republican corruption and illegal activities a central theme through the coming months. There are simply too many Republicans in legal woes for the issue not to be raised and Americans care too much about the integrity of government for Democrats not to hammer Republicans over their bad deeds.