WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Bush administration official lied to investigators in an attempt to hide the influence-peddling activities of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.
In opening statements at the first trial in connection with the Abramoff scandal, prosecutors tried to paint David Safavian as a liar while his lawyer denied the charges and accused the government of basing its case on "guilt by association."
Justice Department lawyer Peter Zeidenberg said Safavian took advantage of his position to help his friend, a top Washington lobbyist with strong ties to leaders in Congress, particularly in the Republican Party.
"He worked first and foremost to further the interest of one particular individual -- a rich and powerful lobbyist and personal friend of the defendant, Jack Abramoff," Zeidenberg told 12 jurors and two alternates.
Safavian, the former chief of staff at the General Services Administration -- the agency that manages property for the federal government -- has been charged with lying and obstructing investigations into his relationship with Abramoff and their 2002 golf outing to Scotland that was funded by the lobbyist.
A political appointee at the GSA from May 2002 to January 2004 who later worked at the White House budget office, Safavian is the first government official to be indicted in a case related to the Abramoff scandal.
YES! It is the trial of David Safavian, who has been charged with lying and obstruction of justice. It is certainly interesting that the first government official to be charged in this Abramoff scandal happens to be a Bush administration official, and not any of the congressional Republicans. But this is just the tip of the iceberg here. If Safavian is found guilty, you have to wonder whether he's going to cooperate with the feds in return for a reduced jail sentence. We will soon know. According to the Yahoo story, the trial is expected to last a week.
Stay tuned.
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