Is there a Washington, DC political establishment, “an elite protected class that is above the law,” as Tom Reed contends? Of course there is: remember Richard Nixon who was pardoned for crimes he did willfully commit. Here are other examples:

• Tom Reed wasn’t censured, let alone prosecuted, for embarrassing the United States with a disreputable midnight swim on an official trip.
• Tom Reed wasn’t censured, let alone prosecuted, for paying his private tax bill with campaign funds.
• Tom Reed wasn’t censured, let alone prosecuted, when a person or persons unknown caused fraudulent nominating petitions to be circulated on his behalf.
• Tom Reed hasn’t been censured, let alone prosecuted, for fraudulent campaign websites.
• Tom Reed wasn’t censured, let alone prosecuted, for operating his bill collecting business after being elected to Congress in violation of ethics rules.

Government officials ought to be protected against punishment for inadvertent actions in the course of their official duties, but not for deliberate infractions such as Tom Reed has more than once practiced. Of course there is an elite protected class, and Tom Reed is immersed in it.