Last week US Congressional investigators accused investment banks of hiding hundreds of billions of dollars from the taxman on their clients' behalf.

Along with the debt it spirited away in partnerships, Enron hid billions in loans in plain sight.

Executives at Enron used accounting loopholes, special purpose entities, and misleading financial reporting to hide billions in debt from failed deals and projects.

Executives at WorldCom hide billions of dollars in expenses through almost blatant accounting tricks, reportedly to meet increasingly distant profit projections.

Mr. Sullivan, WorldCom's former chief financial officer, said he had hid billions of dollars in expenses.

Gian Paolo Zini, a lawyer who set up some offshore companies that were used to hide billions of dollars in debt and losses, was given two years.

Mr. Sullivan was indicted on charges that he conspired to hide billions of dollars in losses at the company.

He has not been accused, for example, of hiding billions in Swiss banks as other corrupt leaders have.

Federal prosecutors allege they colluded to hide billions in expenses, while lying to investors and regulators.

The only way out of this trap for the Republican leadership is to hide billions of dollars in spending with budgetary devices.