Safavian: Abramoff Will Always Be My Friend

The last day of testimony by defendant and former White House official David Safavian proved to be a slow-moving train of qualified admissions from the accused: no, he did not tell investigators important information about what he knew of Abramoff’s dealings, although he would have if they had asked directly; no, he didn’t read important documents closely that would have alerted him to problems, although he feels foolish now that he didn’t. No, he didn’t think anything odd about Abramoff emailing GSA-related inquiries to his home email address; he assumed Jack had “privacy issues.”

No, he didn’t have a particularly good grasp of government ethics rules at the time of his dealings with Abramoff. But he does now.

But Safavian wasn’t equivocal about one decision he made, long ago: to be friends with the man who rose to become possibly the most corrupt lobbyist in the history of the profession.

In the waning moments of the prosecution’s cross-examination, Justice lawyer Paul Zeidenberg asked the former General Services Administration official if he ever thought disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff did him favors because he wanted favors done in return.

“It never occurred to me he was doing that,” he told Zeidenberg.

Zeidenberg asked Safavian if he still considered Abramoff his friend.

“Yes,” Safavian replied without hesitation. “Despite his flaws.”

“And you’ll always consider him a friend?” asked Zeidenberg.

“I don’t throw people out like that,” Safavian said with a tone of distaste.

Mentioning the first Washington Post article detailing some of Abramoff’s egregious misdeeds, Zeidenberg asked Safavian about his reaction: to email Abramoff (from his White House email address) offering assistance with “damage control.”

“At the time I thought this was the Washington Post being the Washington Post,” Safavian replied.

But it was also evidence of Jack Abramoff having been Jack Abramoff — in his illustriously corrupt manner. That September 2004 article was the first blow to the Abramoff house of cards; Justice got interested, the investigation got rolling, and plea deals fell like rain.

According to earlier testimony, shortly after the FBI first interviewed Safavian as part of its investigation into Abramoff, he encountered Volz at a party and told him about it, saying that “we” must “stick together.”

Volz didn’t heed his advice. He pleaded out, and last week testified against Safavian. In fact, this case has been notable by how little anyone has “stuck together.” Abramoff himself has also pleaded out, and his emails were used as evidence against the former GSA official. It’s said the Feds expected Safavian to plead out, too, but he never did. So Safavian wound up a lone defendant on the stand, pledging friendship to men who had not only pulled him into their scams, but later gave the government evidence that may help send him to jail.

Shortly afterward the prosecution ended its cross-examination. A few more questions came from both sides, and then the defense rested. Safavian stepped down from the witness stand.

The trial will recess for the rest of this week, and jury deliberations will begin next Monday.