Bush's Budget Procurement chief arrested

[usregimechange]

Visit the first thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1791748&mesg_id=1791748

Bush Management and Budget Procurement chief arrested after quitting

David Safavian, who oversees $300 billion of annual federal purchasing as director of the Office of Procurement Policy, has been arrested for three criminal charges relating to obstruction of a federal investigation. He resigned quietly last Friday.

RAW STORY previously reported that ex-gambling lobbyist Safavian had, "quietly advanced the interests of former clients under the cloak of a vocally anti-gambling Utah congressman" Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT). Safavian was Cannon's chief of staff.

The indictment refers to a 2002 trip arranged by Jack Abramoff, a Washington power lobbyist who arranged a trip to Scotland that took powerful House Rep. Bob Ney golfing. Abramoff was joined on the trip by former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed and David Safavian. According to the charges, Safavian "allegedly aided a Washington, D.C., lobbyist in the lobbyist's attempts to acquire GSA-controlled property in and around Washington, D.C."

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Bush_Management_and_Budget_Procurement_chief_arre_0919.html

DOJ Release

WASHINGTON, D.C.-A former General Services Administration (GSA) official was arrested on charges of making false statements and obstructing an investigation by the GSA’s Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG), Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today.

David Hossein Safavian was arrested today based on a three-count criminal complaint filed at federal court in Washington, D.C. The complaint charges Safavian with making false statements to a GSA ethics officer and the GSA-OIG, along with obstruction of a GSA-OIG investigation.

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2005/September/05_crm_490.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2003-44
November 4, 2003
PRESIDENT TO NAME DAVID H. SAFAVIAN ADMINISTRATOR FOR FEDERAL
PROCUREMENT POLICY, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

The President announced today that he intends to nominate David Hossein Safavian, of Michigan, to be Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. Mr. Safavian currently serves as Chief of Staff for
the General Services Administration in Washington, D.C. Prior to this position he served as Chief of Staff for Congressman Chris Cannon. Earlier in his career, Mr. Safavian served as a Shareholder and Managing Partner for Janus-Merritt Strategies, L.L.C. and as an Associate Attorney for Preston, Gates and Ellis in Washington, D.C. He earned his bachelor's degree from St. Louis University, his J.D. from the Detroit College of Law, and his LLM from the Georgetown University Law Center.

For more information, please contact OMB Communications at 202-395-7254 or visit our Web
site at www.omb.gov
gov.
# # #

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/pubpress/2003-44.pdf

[Erika]

1. Tom DeLay's buddie

[FreedomAngel82]

2. Oh wow

I'm glad something happened instead of letting them get away with stuff. I wonder who put him up to it.

[Carla in Ca]

27. And look who the Mrs. is

from item on Eschaton:



Mr. Safavian's wife? Oh, that's Jennifer Safavian. Her job? Chief counsel on oversight and investigations on the House Government Reform Committee.

Their latest job? Heading up the sham Katrina investigation...

[Talismom]

3. May this be just the first drop in a deluge! n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. Floodgate is opening wider. Sweep away the Republicans in 2006.

[Raster]

4. Praise the Low-erd, first of many!

[skids]

5. Related thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4822767

FWIW.

[ultraist]

6. LOL!

:rofl:

Right on the heels of his buddy, the horse shit dude, being forced to step down! C-O-R-R-U-P-T bastards.

[bluedawg12]

7. Phew- this is heading up stream to the bug man n/t

[MnFats]

8. This guy will turn out to be to Bush's downfall as the Watergate..

...burglars were to Nixon's.
It's ass-saving time! Sing like a canary, you worthless fuck!

Visualize this guy testifying before Congress as the White House does all it can to portray him as a vengeful nutcase...

[usregimechange]

9. We have to get it on the media first... nominate, mediablast

[usregimechange]

10. kick

[starroute]

11. He was also recently involved in this boondoggle

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=32212&dcn=todaysnews

Procurement provision in hurricane aid bill raises eyebrows

The Office of Management and Budget is working to address concerns that a dramatic increase in the threshold for government credit card purchases, approved Thursday as part of Congress' $51.8 billion hurricane aid package, could spawn waste and abuse.

A provision in the emergency assistance bill (H.R. 3673) boosts the limit for emergency micropurchases from $15,000 to $250,000. Most micropurchases are made using government-issued credit cards and aren't subject to the competition requirements typically accompanying larger buys.

OMB's Office of Federal Procurement Policy, along with the General Services Administration, will issue guidance "shortly to address concerns that federal employees may misuse these flexibilities," said David Safavian, the OFPP administrator.

See also: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR2005090901867.html

[Supersedeas]

31. so, why isn't the Corporate Media covering this story--old London video

is more pressing??

[usregimechange]

12. I will kick this all night, evilgrin

[whistle]

13. Ohoooo, this is news that has fallen between the cracks of MSM

....the Federal Budget procurement process eh, involving $300 billion which of course is 300,000 millions of dollars*.... a lot of green to spread around to cronies and no-bid contracts for Halliburton.

*Note: $300 billion is $1,000,000.00 X 300,000 = $300,000,000,000.00

[FreedomAngel82]

23. Ugh

Halliburton is so disgusting.

[Psephos]

15. This seems like a huge story...where's the outrage? n/t

[usregimechange]

16. Where is DU? We have been slow on this one, help...

[usregimechange]

17. MSNBC Now

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9402070/

[texpatriot2004]

20. He's NOT a former employee, he's only been gone 72 hours.

[chat_noir]

32. MSNBC

Don't forget to rate this story.

[usregimechange]

18. SCOTUS Appointee will push this on the back burner.

[texpatriot2004]

19. Check out DeLay's house of scandal.

http://www.houseofscandal.org/main.html

[usregimechange]

21. connections to Rove

Abramoff also bragged to his clients about his success in placing his own employees into Bush administration jobs including David Safavian, now in charge of all government procurement at the General Services Administration and Patrick Pizzella, formerly a Marianas lobbyist and currently a Deputy Secretary of Labor. Even Abramoff's personal assistant, Susan Ralston, later became Karl Rove’s personal assistant.

http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/05/05/ale05068.html

[Bumblebee]

22. Big article in the NYT

By PHILIP SHENON and ANNE E. KORNBLUT
Published: September 20, 2005

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - A senior White House budget official who resigned abruptly last week was arrested Monday on charges of lying to investigators and obstructing a federal inquiry involving Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who has been under scrutiny by the Justice Department for more than a year.

The arrest of the official, David H. Safavian, head of procurement policy at the Office of Management and Budget, was the first to result from the wide-ranging corruption investigation of Mr. Abramoff, once among the most powerful and best-paid lobbyists in Washington and a close friend of Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader.

According to court papers, Mr. Safavian, 38, is accused of lying about assistance that he gave Mr. Abramoff in his earlier work at the General Services Administration, where he was chief of staff from 2002 to 2004, and about an expensive golf trip he took with the lobbyist to Scotland in August 2002.

[FreedomAngel82]

24. Oh wow

So now I see why this guy is important to the case. Who knows what he knows! I hope he sings like a bird!

[Historic NY]

25. Cracks appearing in the Bush levee.......

:wow: How long before DeLay follows........????

[fujiyama]

26. Let's hope the main cockroach

DeLay will end up in a cage.
Remember when the pukes would bitch about corruption under Clinton?
Yeah, the adults are really back in charge aren't they?

[Mr Rabble]

28. Kick for an important story. nt

[FrenchieCat]

29. bout time!

NEXT!?

[usregimechange]

30. kick

[usregimechange]

33. kick

[Independent_Liberal]

34. The impeachment monster is coming!

Look out everyone!

:)