WASHINGTON – It has been more than four years since the former top procurement official in the George W. Bush administration was first convicted by a jury in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the ex-official is still battling in the courts to stay out of prison.
David Safavian (suh-FAY'-vee-uhn) is arguing on appeal that he was a victim of vindictive prosecution during a second trial in which he was convicted of obstructing justice and making false statements to investigators. The appeals court had ordered the retrial.
Safavian provided Abramoff with information on two pieces of government-controlled property Abramoff wanted, and Safavian accepted a golfing junket to Scotland paid for in part by Abramoff.
Before his latest appeal, Safavian was sentenced to a year in prison.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
