Frequently unshirted Congressman Aaron Schock of Illinois, Downton Abbey's number one fan, announced Tuesday he's resigning his post. The move comes just months after Schock became a national laughingstock and a walking one-man example of unchecked political corruption and personal avarice. He's blaming "constant questions" for "distracting" him from his job.


Schock first became widely known last year for being kinda closeted-seeming. His job security got a little shaky after the revelation by the Washington Post of his taxpayer-funded Downton-themed office redo, and then quickly went entirely to shit with news of his fondness for taking private planes on the public dime. And just this week the Associated Press found that he was involved in a real shady-looking real estate deal, wherein he bought a $300,000 house from a big donor and then turned around and mortgaged it for $600,000. The AP reports that Schock has similarly interesting real estate transactions going back at least a decade, a pretty impressive feat for a man of only 33. Just yesterday, investigators from the Office of Congressional Ethics started quietly checking getting in touch with people associated with Schock, according to Politico.

Today, Politico reports, Schock announced he's stepping down:

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. I thank them for their faith in electing me and letting me represent their interests in Washington. I have given them my all over the last six years. I have traveled to all corners of the District to meet with the people I've been fortunate to be able to call my friends and neighbors. "But the constant questions over the last six weeks have proven a great distraction that has made it too difficultfor 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.


Going to be hard to top this one corruption-wise, Illinois, but you'll surely manage.