Federal Procurement Office Administrator Arrested

The rap sheet for Republicans continues to grow, this time right into the White House. It seems the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy,(which handles policy for the Office of Management and Budget for the White House) David Safavian,was arrested on a three count indictment. According to the Department of Justice press release: 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. The affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint alleges that from May 16, 2002 until January 10, 2004, Safavian served as Chief of Staff at the GSA. During that time he allegedly aided a Washington D.C. lobbyist in the lobbyist's attempts to acquire GSA-controlled property in and around Washington, D.C. In August 2002, this lobbyist allegedly took Safavian and others on a golf trip to Scotland. The false statement and obstruction of the investigation charges relate to Safavian's statements to a GSA ethics officer and the GSA-OIG that the lobbyist had no business with GSA prior to the August 2002 golf trip. According to the affidavit, Safavian concealed the fact that the lobbyist had business before GSA prior to the August 2002 golf trip, and that Safavian was aiding the lobbyist in his attempts to do business with GSA. The arrest gets even more interesting, because as Josh Marshall tells us, before he signed on with the Bush administration Safavian worked for Jack Abramoff at Preston Gates. Say....Wasn't Tom Delay (R-TX) also being investigated about a golf trip to Scotland? Just askin'.