When he was running the U.S. Senate in 2012, Harry Reid asserted, without presenting evidence, that an anonymous source had told him that Republican nominee Mitt Romney was a tax cheat. “So, the word is out that he has not paid any taxes for 10 years,” the majority leader declared from the Senate floor. “Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn’t.”

It was a classless move from a classless politician. As it turned out, his comment didn’t bear any relation to reality. In reality, it turned out that Romney paid millions of dollars in taxes each year and gave a significant amount to charity.