Just 7 months after his life completely fell apart, former "Real Housewives of DC" star Tareq Salahi has decided to take the only logical next step -- run for Governor of Virginia.

Salahi -- whose estranged wife left him back in September to bang the guitarist from Journey -- tells TMZ, he wants to formally announce his candidacy for VA Governor in the upcoming election.

Salahi says he wants to use his extensive life experience as a vineyard owner and reality TV famewhore to change how things are run in his home state.

Salahi tells us, "I am troubled to see how our current political figureheads continue to waste tax payer dollars! I’m a big believer in limited government, keeping taxes, regulation and litigation low, and if I do win, everyone is invited to crash the inauguration!”

If he does win ... everyone is also invited to watch pigs fly.

Tareq Salahi claims Neal Schon's penis is a tool for destruction ... which he whipped out and used in an effort to topple the thriving Salahi empire ... and now Tareq's suing the Journey rocker for $50 MILLION!!!!

Tareq just filed the lawsuit in Virginia ... claiming he and estranged wife Michaele Salahi were on track to make a fortune together from multiple TV shows including "Dancing with the Stars" ... before Schon's penis screwed everything up.

According to the suit, Tareq and Michaele had an offer to make $150k to participate on the Australian version of DWTS in 2011 ... plus, he claims, the couple also had an offer to appear on another network TV show in the U.S.

But when Michaele ran off with Schon in Sept. 2011... Tareq claims the TV shows pulled their offers.

AND IT GETS WORSE ... Tareq says Schon waged an X-rated campaign to humiliate him ... emailing Tareq a photo of his penis and calling him on the phone to tell him, "I'm f**king your wife."

In the suit, Tareq claims, "The act was a metaphorical slap in the face."

Tareq claims Schon humiliated him in public, too ... because the publicity would increase interest in the band's concert tour .. which resulted in a major boost in ticket sales.  

Tareq is demanding at least $50 million for emotional distress, conspiracy to defame, interfering with a contract and defamation ... PLUS he wants $450k in punitive damages.

Stay tuned.

Michaele Salahi will neither confirm nor deny she banged Journey guitarist Neal Schon behind her husband's back ... this according to new legal docs.

Turns out, adultery is a CRIME in Virginia ... and if Michaele admits that she slept around with Schon while she was married to Tareq Salahi, she could be punished by the law.

So, instead of responding to the adultery accusations Tareq included in his divorce filing --  Michaele has now filed documents in which she "asserts her privilege pursuant to the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution not to respond."

Additionally, admitting to adultery could put Michaele at a serious disadvantage in her divorce proceedings -- because as we first reported, the couple's pre-nup stipulates ... if Michaele commits adultery, she gets zilch for spousal support.

Sources close to Michaele tell TMZ, she's not concerned -- because Michaele was already separated from Tareq when she started dating Neal. The couple celebrated their four-month anniversary on Friday.

For the record -- the crime of adultery in Virginia is considered a misdemeanor, punishable by a $250 fine.

If you're unfamiliar with the 5th Amendment .... here's a lesson from Dave Chappelle:

Tareq Salahi has fired off legal docs in his nasty divorce from Michaele Salahi, claiming she lived waaay beyond her means ... and, oh yeah, she was banging another dude.

In Tareq's response to MIchaele's divorce petition, he claims she was a compulsive liar.  The examples he gave ... she SWORE she was a Washington Redskins Cheerleader and a Victoria's Secret Model.

Tareq also says Michaele lived beyond her means, routinely spending thousands of bucks on hair extensions and beauty treatments and throwing lavish parties for him -- in one case $16k.

And the whole banging thing ... Tareq quotes Journey guitarist Neal Schon, who boasts he had sex with Michaele in his dressing room after a concert while she was still with Tareq.  Schon says, "I have tennis shoes on and she's, like, nine feet tall over me.  And she looks down at me like she's standing on stilts and says, 'I love you.  And that's never gonna change.'  And when that happened I said, 'Get over her!  This has taken 15 years.'"

It's a shame.  They seem so ... right for each other.

Tareq Salahi is a violent control freak who employs psychotic scare tactics to terrorize Michaele Salahi ... at least that's what she says in new court papers.

Michaele wants the judge in her divorce case to grant a legal separation STAT, so she can be free of the spell Tareq has cast over her ... according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Michaele explains in her papers that she fled to Journey guitarist Neal Schon because she just plain feared for her physical safety.

According to Michaele, the Summer of 2011 was the season of rage for Tareq -- culminating in physical violence against her.

The final straw came on September 11th ... Michaele claims she returned from an errand a few hours late, and Tareq turned out all the lights and waited for her in the basement ... telling her she needed a lesson in fear. Two days later, Michaele fled to Neal ... fearing for her safety.

As for Tareq -- he categorically denies the allegations ... telling TMZ, Michaele is a "chronic liar" whose accusations are "absurd." Tareq insists he loved her and did everything humanly possible to support her during their marriage.

Tareq Salahi may want $17 million from Neal Schon and estranged wife Michaele Salahi -- but judging by their demeanor yesterday, all he'll be getting ... is laughed at.

As TMZ first reported, Tareq fired off a letter to the two ... threatening a lawsuit and demanding they cough up dough for humiliating him with their torrid affair. 

We spotted the new couple arriving into Dulles International for Michaele's first trip home since she ... left home. They laughed about Tareq's threats, with Neal saying, "I think some people need to get a grip and move on."

Doesn't seem like that's happening any time soon.

Tareq Salahi ain't taking his internationally humiliating divorce sitting down -- TMZ has learned, he's now demanding his estranged wife and her rock star BF cough up $17 MILLION ... for publicly humiliating him with their torrid affair.

Tareq's attorney just fired off a letter to lawyers for Michaele Salahi and "Journey" guitarist Neal Schon -- claiming the adulterous couple profited unfairly off Tareq's misery ... and sabotaged his career in the process.

The taunting, the $10,000 lingerie shopping sprees, the onstage make-out sessions, the penis pics ... that was all just salt on the wound.

According to Tareq's lawyer, the large-scale publicity surrounding Michaele's affair with Schon skyrocketed ticket sales for Journey's most recent tour -- all while torpedoing several pending TV deals Tareq had previously made with his wife ... before she ran off with the rock star.

Tareq claims Michaele and Neal have since put the wheels in motion for their own reality show -- leaving Tareq in the dust ... with $2 million of debt.

Tareq wants $17 million to compensate him for all his suffering. We reached out to reps for Neal and Michaele -- so far, no word back.

Tareq Salahi won't get the chance to trash his "groupie slut" wife in open court ... for now ... because he and Michaele have agreed to suspend their divorce proceedings while they try to hash out a settlement in private mediation.

It's a pretty shocking move considering the Salahis might be the biggest fame whores on the planet -- but sources close to Tareq tell us, he feels handling the issues behind closed doors will be the most effective way to get a deal done quickly.

Tareq filed a formal request to dismiss his divorce complaint earlier this month ... and we're told private mediation is set to begin in November ... when Michaele's other man, Neal Schon, finishes up his tour with his band, Journey.

If the two can't reach an agreement during mediation ... Tareq is free to refile with the Virginia court ... but that means every aspect of their "private" dispute could be made public ... and we all know how much they would hate that ... right?

Tareq Salahi's worst nightmare is now on the West Coast -- because TMZ just spotted his ex Michaele "Groupie Slut" Salahi and her new beau Neal Schon checking into a hotel together in Los Angeles Monday afternoon.

The couple is in town for the next leg of Journey's tour -- as Schon and the boys are scheduled to play a concert tonight at the Hollywood Bowl.

The state of Virginia is kicking Tareq Salahi while he’s down – slapping him with a tax lien for nearly $5,000.
 
TMZ has obtained the document showing Tareq owes a grand total of $4,395.05 for unpaid taxes over a six-month period back in 2008.  
 
It’s unclear what he's being taxed on -- but a source close to Salahi tells us Tareq is guessing it has something to do with his now bankrupt winery, Oasis Vineyards.

Tareq Salahi is selling off millions of dollars worth of bad memories this weekend -- including his wedding ring, some priceless art ... and over 50 bathrobes that his no-good, two-timing, "groupie slut" wife allegedly stole from hotels across the world.

The laundry list of Michaele-inspired items will hit the auction block this Saturday on a website called 9021go.com -- and Tareq tells TMZ, he hopes selling it all off "will help bring closure to this ridiculous situation I am in.”

As for how Michaele amassed such an expansive collection of bathrobes -- Tareq tells us, "As soon as we arrived [at the hotels], Michaele would call housekeeping and demand a bath gown saying that there was one missing. So when we checked out we would not be charged for taking it."

Tareq adds, "Looking back I know realize this is indicative of our relationship together, full of deceit, lies ... and bathrobes."

Some other items to hit the block -- bed linen, clothes, furniture, and two original sculptures with a combined value of $3.3 million. And it's all going to benefit charity. Everybody wins!