Another Bush Crony is sent to Jail!

The pervasive rot that was the Bush Administration continues to reveal itself in the conviction of Former General Services Administration (GSA) Chief of Staff David H. Safavian.

According to the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Mr. Safavian is considered amongst the top twenty-five most corrupt public officials within the George W. Bush Administration. His persistent attempts at concealing government related corruption that benefited himself, Republican congressmen, and the Republican party, were part of the core of this administration's ethos. While his crimes may seem trivial relative to the systematic looting of the U.S. Treasury to enrich military contractors, officials at the Pentagon, CIA operatives, and others well-placed within government during the early Bush years, it is important to understand that he was not an aberration or lone-wolf, but a symptom of the self-serving and corrupt machinations that permeated the Republican party.

On Dec. 19, 2008 a federal jury convicted Mr. Safavian of one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements. Today, he was sentenced to one year in prison on charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements in connection with the investigation into the activities of former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

One will recall that Jack Abramoff, a Republican super-Lobbyist and the man who Mr. Safavian was protecting, was exposed of trading expensive gifts, meals, and sports trips in exchange for political favors. He was additionally found guilty on five counts of criminal felony involving the defrauding of American Indian tribes and corruption of public officials. Altogether, for his accumulated deeds, he was sentenced to a four-year term in federal prison.

According to the US Department of Justice,

Safavian assisted Abramoff in connection with [sic] lobbyist’s attempts to acquire GSA-controlled properties, Abramoff took him on a luxury golf trip to Scotland and to London. The jury found that over the span of three years, Safavian made false statements in an attempt to conceal the fact that around the time of the golf trip he aided Abramoff with business before the GSA. The false statements included statements made to a GSA ethics officer and a GSA Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG) Special Agent as well as falsely certifying a financial disclosure form. The jury heard evidence at trial that Safavian’s efforts to cover up the assistance he provided Abramoff continued after he left the GSA in November 2004 to become the Administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy at the Office of Management and Budget.

To date, 20 individuals, including lobbyists and public officials, have pleaded guilty, been convicted at trial, or are awaiting trial in connection with the ongoing investigation into the activities of Abramoff and his associates.