Here's Barack Obama in December of last year on fellow Democrat Bernie Madoff,

"In the last few days, the alleged scandal at Madoff Investment Securities has reminded us yet again of how badly reform is needed when it comes to the rules and regulations that govern our markets. A massive fraud that was made possible, in part, because the regulators who were assigned to oversee Wall Street dropped the ball. And if the financial crisis has taught us anything, it's that this failure of oversight and accountability, doesn't just harm individuals involved. It has the potential to devastate our entire economy and that's a failure we can't afford."

Back then, Madoff was engaged in "massive fraud" and his activities were evidence of "how badly reform is needed." Yet,

Today, Madoff pleaded guilty and now faces a sentence of up to 150 years in jail. Asked this evening if the DSCC would return the Madoff money, spokesman Eric Schultz told me: "We haven't returned the money, and there are no immediate plans to do so." Schultz declined further comment when asked if the DSCC, whose chairman is New Jersey senator Robert Menendez, is concerned that the group had accepted $100,000 in what is essentially stolen cash.

Bernard Madoff was a big Democratic donor, as Jonathan V. Last noted earlier today. According to OpenSecrets, 88 percent of the $238,000 he and his wife donated since 1991 went to Democratic politicians, many of whom have given, or are in the process of giving, the money to charities.

There's no word yet on whether Barack Obama will be pardoning Bernard Madoff so that he can serve in the Treasury Department, but given Madoff's status as a big Democratic donor and prominent tax cheat, it's probably only a matter of time at this point.