bush aide arrested

[dajoki]

he was working on contracts for katrina relief
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/politics/20lobby.html?th&emc=th
Ex-White House Aide Charged in Corruption Case

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.

<<snip>>

The White House said in a statement that Mr. Safavian had resigned on Friday and that "we, of course, will cooperate fully with the Justice Department in this investigation." A spokesman said the White House would have no further comment on the arrest.

Mr. Safavian had recently been working on developing contracting policies for the multibillion-dollar relief effort after Hurricane Katrina.

[clydefrand]

1. I'll bet Bush is going even nuttier than he already is.

I'm so glad he has a lot on his plate. But then he'll just "delegate" to others of his ilk.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. That assumes Bush is paying attention in the first place.

Something I'm not going to bet on.

[dajoki]

7. that's a smart non bet n/t

[moobu2]

2. David H. Safavian was also a former lobbyist

Who worked for several people suspected of supporting terrorist activity’s and one who was convicted of conspiracy to assassinate the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

The record of Safavian's confirmation shows extensive questioning by the committee staff about his alleged lobbying for local Muslim leader Abdurahman Alamoudi, who in October 2000 made widely publicized comments supporting Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, at a rally in Lafayette Park.

Lobby disclosure forms originally filed by Safavian's firm, Janus-Merritt Strategies, show that it represented Alamoudi, a prominent Muslim activist, until 2001. Alamoudi has since been convicted and imprisoned for accepting money from the Libyan government as part of an alleged plot to assassinate the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

Janus-Merritt Strategies changed its lobby disclosure forms in 2001 to indicate that its client was not Alamoudi but Jamal Barzinji. In March 2002, Barzinji was named in a search warrant affidavit filed by a Customs Service official as "the officer or director" of a group of entities in Northern Virginia "controlled by individuals who have shown support for terrorists or terrorist fronts." No charges have been filed against Barzinji, and he has denied any wrongdoing.

Safavian told the committee in an April 16, 2004, letter that he and his firm never did any work for Alamoudi. He said the firm lobbied at Barzinji's request to gain U.S. support to free the former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, who was imprisoned for six years.

More info @ washingtonpost.com

[dajoki]

6. and he was still appointed...

WTF!! that's a disgrace to say the least.

[Catrina]

4. Finally, at least one arrest

before he could do his job for the Bush administration regarding all those billions of dollars going to the Gulf supposedly for rebuilding.

He's a good friend of George Bush, and Abramoff. Also Grover Norquist. Abramoff and Tom Delay!! The whole cabal of thieves and looters may finally be going down, one at a time. Abramoff must be talking. I know he was very angry when he found out he is no longer a friend of Tom Delay. Tom Delay claimed he hardly knew him. I remember Abramoff saying at the time that Tom Delay knew everything. He was furious and after that, there was the charge against Delay involving the Golf vacation in Scotland. Mr. Safavian seems to have been on that trip also.

What should be done now about his wife? She has a pretty important position also. What a bunch of crooks and looters they are ~ criminals with zero ethics and no qualifications for anything except to enrich themselves. I think they're all going to talk now. I hope this gets speeded up. American cannot take much more of these people.

[dajoki]

5. hopefully more to come n/t