Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) can't be feeling very safe right now. We told you about the conviction of David Safavian on obstruction charges. What was lost in some of the hubbub about the conviction was that a star witness for the prosecution was Neil Volz, who left his position as Chief of Staff for Ney to become a lobbyist at Abramoff's firm.
The Columbus Dispatch has a good story on the legal implications of Volz's testimony for Ney. It seems that Volz provided much testimony on the 2002 golf trip to Scotland that Ney and Safavian took with Abramoff, and furthermore, the jury believed him and convicted Safavian.
The first trial in the whole Abramoff scandal is nearing its end, with both the prosecution and the defense making closing arguments on Monday. The prosecution reiterated its contention that David Safavian lied about and covered up his association with Jack Abramoff:
David Safavian, the former chief of staff at the General Services Administration, "was trying to hide a secret, inappropriate and unethical relationship with Mr. Abramoff," prosecutor Nathaniel Edmonds told a federal jury in final arguments.
Edmonds said that every public official has "moments of truth" in which he can act ethically or unethically and that Safavian failed the test by lying to the GSA's ethics officer, the agency's office of inspector general and a Senate committee.
The Safavian trial is just the beginning of the legal portion of the Abramoff scandal, but it surely won't be the last. After the jury verdict in this case, much more justice remains to be handed down.
Former government procurement official David Safavian is just one of the public figures to be exposed in the Abramoff scandal. He went on a luxury golfing trip to St. Andrews in Scotland in 2002 with Abramoff, Bob Ney and others. There have been the recognizable rounds of public statements, lawyer's comments and excuses for his close relationship with the disgraced lobbyist.
As Safavian's legal case progresses, many papers have been covering the story; today's Washington Post reports:
The lawyer for Bush administration executive David Safavian plans a short defense to charges he concealed giving assistance from his government post to his former partner, Republican influence-peddler Jack Abramoff.
Prosecutors rested their case Thursday after a Senate investigator testified Safavian gave contradictory accounts last
year about whether or not he accepted free chartered jet travel on a 2002 golfing trip to Scotland that Abramoff arranged.
Today's USA Today brings us an editorial on Congress and lobbying, and the non-reform reform bills working their way through the House and Senate.
On the subject of the now-infamous golf trip Jack Abramoff, Rep. Bob Ney, and aides took in 2002, USA Today highlights some of the problem areas for Ney:
If the golf junket was legal at all, it would have been because it employed two commonly used ruses for skirting ethics rules: the special interest-funded vacation dressed up as a fact-finding mission, and the use of a private jet at a fraction of its true cost. Here's how Ney's aide, Neil Volz, described the system when he worked on Capitol Hill: "I was given tickets to sporting events, concerts, free food, free meals. In return I gave special treatment to my lobbying buddies."
The Editorial Board echoes much of what Common Cause has said about the so-called "reform" plans currently under consideration:
Common Blog
