E-Mails Tie Former GSA Official to Abramoff

[ProSense]

E-Mails Tie Former GSA Official to Abramoff

Safavian Attorney Objects to Disclosure

By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 15, 2006; Page A09

Federal prosecutors last night released hundreds of e-mails documenting the business and personal ties between former White House aide David H. Safavian, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and a network of congressional representatives and staffers.

Within days after becoming chief of staff at the General Services Administration, for example, Safavian began discussions of government property opportunities with Abramoff. In other e-mails, Abramoff suggested that then-GSA Administrator Steve Perry join them on a $130,000 golfing trip to Scotland.

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Regardless of their admissibility, the documents provide a rare and detailed look at the intersection between government officials and lobbyists, where business deals, racquetball, golf and expensive meals are part of daily discussion.

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On Jan. 22, 2004, President Bush appointed Safavian chief administrator of the White House Office of Federal Procurement Policy. On Sept. 16, 2005, Safavian resigned; he was arrested three days later.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041402016.html