Rep. Joe Crowley defends having his family live in Virginia while he represents parts of the Bronx and Queens. (photo credit: azi paybarah / observer)

After the New York Post reported today that Queens Congressman Joe Crowley makes his home in a D.C. suburb, Crowley went on the offensive this morning, questioning the paper's credibility in light of the tabloid scandal roiling English politics.

"I'm happy with my own personal life," he said. "And by the way, it's the New York Post. And we know what's happening in England. I'm not surprised it's happening here as well."

The Post is, of course, owned by Rupert Murdoch's massive media conglomerate News Corp., which announced yesterday it would shutter News of the World, after reports the tabloid had tapped the phones of a missing 13-year-old girl, along the families of deceased soldiers and members of the royal family.

It's certainly not a new phenomenon for the Post's targets to question the paper's credibility, but it does show the extent to which the scandal could undermine other outposts in Murdoch's far-flung empire.