Posted on 10/12/2006 5:05:35 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - The government is pushing for three years in prison for a former Bush administration official found guilty of covering up his relationship with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The prison time could be years less than what David Safavian, former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, was initially expected to face for lying and hiding details of his connections with Abramoff from investigators and lawmakers.
Federal prosecutors calculated that Safavian's sentence should be between 30 and 37 months, based on federal guidelines, and asked that he be sentenced "at the high end of that range." Safavian could have faced up to five years on each of the four criminal counts in his June conviction. His sentencing is set for Oct. 27.
In documents filed in federal court Wednesday, Justice Department prosecutors Nathaniel B. Edmonds and Peter R. Zeidenberg urged the court to reject Safavian's request for probation, home detention and community service instead of prison.
"Such a sentence is wholly unwarranted and would constitute a miscarriage of justice," the prosecutors wrote.
"There is simply no basis for this court to accept defendant's invitation to disregard the sentencing guidelines and impose such a breathtakingly lenient sentence," the prosecutors concluded.
Safavian's attorney, Barbara Van Gelder, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.
His federal trial marked the first guilty verdict by a jury in the Abramoff probe. E-mails between the two men showed how Abramoff showered Safavian with trips and other perks while badgering him for information about two pieces of GSA-controlled property the lobbyist wanted — including the historic Old Post Office in downtown Washington.
they'd sell their souls to tarnish anyone even remotely related to someone who knows the president's second cousin twice removed, by marriage.
I'm pushing for jail time for Senator Harry Reid.
Figures.
so am I....have bella pelosi now scream to the american public about the culture of corruption!!!!
this guy should be investigated but pronto...but I don't hear any republicans saying a word....wish at least one of them would grow a pair!!!
.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, holds up a report during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2006 by the committee regarding the relationship former lobbyist Jack Abramoff had with the White House. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)
The problem with this article is that the liberal Lara Jakes Jordan missed a great opportunity to use the adjective "disgraced" to describe David Safavian although she did use it to describe Abramhoff. She must be losing it.
Republicans are long over due for a pair of anything!
Fishing for a Pardon.
They may as well trade their wobbles in for a couple of moth balls.
So what exactly is a "Bush administration official"? Is that anyone who works for the government? Or, is this somebody personally appointed by the President?
I know. It is very discouraging, isn't it?
I think they should give him the EXACT same sentence they gave Clinton who lied under oath and obstructed justice.
That'll fix him.
Boy...does that guy Waxman have a RAT face or what? Should have whiskers and all.
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