Ex-Bush aide Safavian gets 18-month prison term

WASHINGTON - Former Bush administration official David Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Friday for lying and obstructing justice in connection with the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal that has ensnared Republicans.

Safavian, 39, a former chief of staff of the General Services Administration (GSA) and ex-White House budget office appointee, received the prison term less than two weeks before elections that will determine whether Republicans keep control of the US Congress.

Besides the Iraq war, ethics breaches have dominated many Senate and House of Representatives campaigns, allowing Democrats to accuse Republicans of fostering a "culture of corruption" in Washington.

US District Judge Paul Friedman sentenced Safavian, who had faced up to 20 years in prison after being convicted on four counts, to 18 months.

"I stand here contrite and ashamed," a tearful Safavian said at his sentencing. He acknowledged he should not have given disgraced Washington lobbyist Abramoff information on the GSA, but did not admit to the charges.

Safavian is expected to appeal his conviction, which could take about a year.

In another Abramoff case, Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney pleaded guilty on Oct. 13 to illegally accepting trips, meals and other items worth tens of thousands of dollars in return for doing favours for Abramoff and his clients.

Safavian was with Ney and others on a lavish golf trip to Scotland in 2002 that Abramoff arranged.

Prosecutors said Safavian lied about his involvement in Abramoff's attempts to do business with GSA, including a possible acquisition of a historic post office near the White House.

The White House has played down its relations with Abramoff. Safavian is the only former White House official convicted in the scandal.

But earlier this month, Susan Ralston, an aide to President George W. Bush's top political adviser Karl Rove, resigned after a congressional report said she had passed White House information to Abramoff while accepting tickets to sporting and entertainment events from the ex-lobbyist.

Government lawyers had argued for a stiff sentence, noting that Safavian used his government positions to unfairly advantage Abramoff over three years.

They said that when confronted, Safavian lied to protect himself, and said despite his statement at the sentencing, he failed to admit to the charges.

Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to defrauding lenders in a Florida casino-ship deal and agreed to co-operate with federal prosecutors in the Washington influence-peddling probe.

On June 20, a federal jury convicted Safavian on four counts of lying and obstructing justice. He is the only person linked to Abramoff to have gone to trial. Others have pleaded guilty.

Safavian was chief of staff at the General Services Administration from 2002 to 2004. The agency manages government offices and procures material for the federal workforce. After leaving GSA, Safavian became chief procurement officer at the White House budget office.

The Abramoff scandal has touched several members of Congress, mostly Republicans. Two former aides to ex-Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the former House majority leader, also have been convicted. DeLay resigned in June while fighting unrelated campaign-finance charges in Texas and being dogged by questions about relations with Abramoff.

Safavian's sentencing marked an ironic turn for a man who, according to government filings, had once written an email to Abramoff proclaiming, "You are the most watched lobbyist of the new generation. I can only hope to follow suit someday."

- REUTERS