Religious News - Conviction tossed for Abramoff figure

ArcaMax Publishing > Religion & Spirituality > Religious News

Your email address is safe with us. View our Privacy policy.

Wedding Guide:

Get advice on planning your big day with our wedding guide

The Funnies:

Get free jokes, comics, and more! See them all on
our funnies page

Games:

Fun online games, quizzes, hangman and more on the games page

Conviction tossed for Abramoff figure

A U.S. federal appeals court has ordered a new trial for a former White House aide linked to the scandal surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

A three-judge panel of U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia tossed David Safavian's conviction on charges of lying to an ethics officer at the General Services Administration -- where Safavian was chief of staff -- and to an investigator for the GSA's inspector general, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The unanimous panel ruled that Safavian was not legally obligated to disclose details of his dealings with Abramoff when asking the GSA's ethics officer about accepting free air fare for a golf excursion.

Safavian was convicted in June 2006 of covering up efforts to assist Abramoff in attaining two GSA-controlled properties. He also was convicted of concealing information about a swank golf trip to Scotland and London with Abramoff.

The convictions must be dismissed, the court said, because "the government cites no regulation or form or statute" that officials must disclose everything to ethics officials or investigators.

The court sent Safavian's convictions on obstruction back to U.S. district court for potential retrial. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department said prosecutors were reviewing the court's decision.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.

This news arrived on: 06/18/2008

Share this Story