WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Bush administration official was convicted on Tuesday of lying about his links to Jack Abramoff, a disgraced lobbyist whose ties to powerful Republicans have embarrassed the party.
A federal jury found David Safavian -- a former chief of staff at the General Services Administration -- guilty of four of five counts of lying and obstructing justice in the first trial to be held in connection with the Abramoff influence-peddling scandal.
Safavian, who showed little emotion as the verdict was read, was cleared of one count of lying to Senate investigators looking into the Abramoff scandal, which could hurt Republicans leading into November's midterm vote.
Federal prosecutors had painted Safavian as someone who took advantage of his position to help Abramoff, a former top Washington lobbyist with strong ties to congressional leaders, particularly Republicans.
Safavian, a GSA political appointee from 2002 to 2004 who later worked in the White House budget office, was the first government official to be indicted in a case related to the Abramoff scandal.
On the fifth day of deliberations, the jury found him guilty of lying about his relationship with Abramoff and his knowledge of the lobbyist's interest in acquiring property from GSA, the property managing agency for the U.S. government.
The jury also found that Safavian lied to a GSA ethics officer when he sought approval to go on an Abramoff-sponsored luxury golf trip to Scotland in 2002. The jury said Safavian had concealed his assistance to Abramoff in GSA-related activities and had also obstructed justice in an agency investigation.
Safavian faces up to 20 years in prison for the four counts. Sentencing was set for October 12.
But here is the real kicker in this story. Safavian's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, was perplexed at how the federal government went after her client. Consider this:
"I've always been perplexed as to why the Justice Department decided to take out the howitzers against Mr. Safavian," she said after the verdict was read. "They made a mountain out of a molehill and now they're going to climb atop the molehill and plant a flag."
It is rather simple here as to why the government went after Safavian. Once they have a conviction from Safavian, the government could offer Safavian a deal, where Safavian could get some time off in exchange for his cooperation. I'm sure that the feds would love to know what Safavian has done to help both Abramoff and possibly Republican congressmen, in his position as a government official. This corruption scandal between Abramoff, the K Street lobbyists, and the Republican congressional leadership of Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, and other Republicans, runs deep. The links even run into the Bush White House. So the feds are certainly interested in what Safavian knows. And now that Safavian is convicted and is facing some serious jail time, there is a deal that can be made here.
So is Safavian willing to spend 20 years in jail, or is he willing to talk to the feds? That's the next question. Stay tuned.
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