I previously blogged the the extensive questionnaire that the Obama transition team asked job applicants to complete.  In light of the Daschle-Geithner-Killefer tax trifecta, Michael Dorf (Cornell) asks Why Didn't the Questionnaire Catch the Tax Issues?:

I did not expect Obama's nominees to be tripped up by tax delinquencies, mostly because so many of the questions on the questionnaire inquire about finances and, specifically, taxes. Thus we have the following possibilities:

1. Some potential nominees did not have to fill out the questionnaire at all because President Obama or his transition staff had already decided to give them the job. 2
2. Potential red flags on some potential nominees' questionnaires were ignored or discounted for the same reason, or because it was assumed that they would get confirmed anyway. …
3. One or more nominees filled out the questionnaire inaccurately or incompletely.
4. Different people on the transition team looked at different questionnaires and concluded (perhaps reasonably) that none of the problems was by itself disqualifying.